Takashi Murakami

When you have the time, have a read of the below article. What started out as a search for why this artist is just so hot in art market now, turned out this article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/03/magazine/03MURAKAMI.html?ei=5090&en=7f2505d23b302648&ex=1270267200&pagewanted=print&position=

It is a very interesting article both in terms of what the modern art world is like and Japanese Culture. The below is something I found very funny (amongst other things in the article):

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The apotheosis of kawaii culture is Hello Kitty, the big-eyed, beribboned, expressionless pussycat character that stokes a billion-dollar-a-year business for the Sanrio company. Created in 1974, the Kitty character took off in 1985, first in Japan and then internationally. When I asked Matsui how she accounted for Kitty's popularity, she practically shrieked in response: ''Because I think humanism is dead! Because people are weak and scared.'' In a more measured tone, she added: ''It's easy to accept Kitty because it's so dumb and expressionless. It doesn't demand that you make any reference.''

For an authoritative view, I paid a call at Sanrio on Yuko Yamaguchi, who has been the chief designer of Hello Kitty for 25 years. With long hennaed hair and wearing brown artificial-leather pants, she didn't look the least bit kawaii herself. When she discussed the enduring popularity of Kitty, she was all business."
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