Rethinking Murakami Takashis Art Practice: Artists Survival and Restructuring of the Art World

Abstract

Discussions on Murakami Takashi have revolved around the two axes that are often considered to sharply contradict one another—the artists commercial success and formalistic or artistic value of his works. Murakami himself, however, did not see the two as conflicting or incompatible. By the time he entered the contemporary art world as an artist, the art markets speculative nature had intensified and Japanese art world was experiencing a greater crisis caused by the collapse of Japans bubble economy under the power of globalization. These changes in the art scene drove Murakami and his contemporaries into an unprecedented crisis of surviving as artists. Despite the significance of the issue as it challenges the art market and artistic values, Japanese mainstream art world has long been almost indifferent to it. Nor had this issue been discussed in art criticisms or artist studies, even in those on Murakami Takashi. With a recognition that it would not be possible to fully understand Murakamis commercial success or artistic accomplishments without taking into consideration the issue of artist survival, this study sought to examine anew the trajectory of Murakamis thoughts and activities. This is to avoid reaching a hasty conclusion that condemns the artist as only commercial, and to more closely scrutinize how the global market transformed conditions for artists survival, how it has grown by commodifying and exploiting art, and how artists have positioned themselves and operated within the market. To this end, this article extended from typical analysis of Murakamis works to encompass his omnidirectional activities as an artist, curator, writer, critic, art educator, entrepreneur, and more, and reviewed his statements made through various media. By doing so, this study highlighted how the artist constantly surfaced the issue of sustaining artists, not as a group of multiple individuals but as a collective group, and acted out in various ways to restructure the art world.