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Tag Archives: Takashi Murakami

Creative Process: Takashi Murakami – Kaikai & Kiki Concept for Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade

Posted by juggernut3, September 4, 2010

A couple days ago, we shared with you the concept sketch of Takashi Murakami’s float contributions for this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. With Kaikai and Kiki set to take flight down 34th street this fall, we thought it would be nice to give you a look at the creative process for getting these two characters from Superflat icons to real life floats. Lots of work went into getting the actual proposal to the Macy’s parade committee, from the initial 2-D sketch to the clay molding figures […]

Takashi Murakami to create Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Float

Posted by juggernut3, September 2, 2010

Takashi Murakami is coming back to show in New York City, but this time, he’s in this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. His contributions will be two specially designed floats of his studio mascots “Kaikai” and “Kiki”. With massive heads measuring 16 feet wide, it’ll be a pretty unforgettable impression these two Superflat characters will make when their larger than life helium filled bodies float down the streets of the Big Apple. We even dug up an old animation of Kaikai & Kiki in action […]

Murakami x Britney Spears for POP Magazine

Posted by sleepboy, August 28, 2010

When Britney Spears posted up a photo on twitter of her and Takashi Murakami posing, fans could only wonder what they were up to. It turns out what they were working on was a photoshoot for POP magazine, quite an appropriate pairing for the princess of pop music and the king of pop art. Take a look at what they were working on under Murakami’s art direction (a look that is a cross between retro beauty pageant queen and manga inspired otaku fantasy) after the […]

Takashi Murakami x Casio G-Shock Frogman

Posted by juggernut3, July 31, 2010

Superflat master Takashi Murakami has created an eye-popping G-Shock “Frogman” watch with Casio. The cool collaboration features his trademark “Flower” emblem etched on the black metal casing and the strap features his signature on the front. The watch comes in a specially packaged and designed watch pillow also featuring his artwork. This collaboration will be limited to 300 and will be released on September 11th later this year. Check out a detailed look after the jump.

Art Basel Switzerland 2010 – Part 2

Posted by AM Editor, June 30, 2010

As promised, we continue our coverage of Art Basel Switzerland 2010 by bringing you images of the contemporary works in the fair. Of course, almost all of today’s leading artists were represented at the show, making it literally a who’s who of the contemporary art scene. As with fairs in the recent past, Ed Ruscha seemed to be very hot, with his significant pop-text pieces popping up at several booths. Another artist that was perhaps even more highly visible at the show was American painter […]

Preview: Christie’s – Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction June 30 @ London

Posted by Khoi, June 29, 2010

As we break out the sunblock and sandals and transition from Spring to Summer, and loved ones around us are graduating, auction season rages on. Tomorrow night, Christie’s in London will host their Post-War & Contemporary Art Evening Auction. The works contained in the event are diverse and of the very highest quality. There is something for everyone — provided you are a millionaire. It ranges from the relatively young and emerging, such as rising stars Matthew Day Jackson, Tal R, and Jules de Balincourt, […]

Video: Takashi Murakami’s UStream Channel

Posted by juggernut3, April 14, 2010

Looks like Superflat icon Takashi Murakami is a fan of UStream seeing as he has already uploaded about 100 impromptu videos of his life and works in the studio. For example, the footage seen above sheds light on what looks to be his biggest painting to date – “Cloud Dragon”. Listed under “takashipom”, you can see the full list of what you can watch (if you can get past the annoying ads) on his channel here. See another example of him at work in the studio […]

Video: Murakami x McG x Dunst – “Akihabara Majokko Princess”

Posted by juggernut3, February 23, 2010

Last year, we told you about the video that Murakami, Kirsten Dunst and McG were creating to be shown at the Tate Modern “Pop Life” exhibition (here). You can now see entire crazy video, (Update: We have removed the link to the video which was apparently uploaded without the authorization of Kaikai Kiki.) “Akihabara Majokko Princess”, which depicts Kirsten running around the streets of Akihabara in wild cosplay costumes while singing a cover of the Vapors’ “Turning Japanese”. Did you catch Nigo from a Bathing Ape in there too? […]

Todd Selby Visits Mr.’s Studio and Home

Posted by AM Editor, February 12, 2010

Our friends at TWBE let us know about photographer Todd Selby’s latest photo-documentation of artists within their spaces, this time with Mr., one of Takashi Murakami’s protégés. Selby had a chance to photograph the eccentric Japanese artist in his studio and home outside of Tokyo. Obviously, Mr.’s fascination with anime and manga is not contained to his art, as he surrounds himself with illustrated books, posters, and pillows, both at work and at home. In addition, Selby captures other intriguing images, such as production sketches […]

Openings: Damien Hirst – “End of an Era” @ Gagosian Gallery (Madison Avenue)

Posted by juggernut3, February 2, 2010

This past Saturday night, AM had the chance to tag along with British contemporary icon Damien Hirst at his opening at the Gagosian Gallery (Madison Ave). As stated in our preview, the show titled “End of an Era” was exactly that – an end to a highly notable period of Damien’s infamously publicized career where he made headlines with awe-inspiring and highly controversial achievements in the art world. This show contained the last of many prime examples of the British Bad Boy’s most renowned and infamous works – important iconic achievements […]