You cannot place a new order from your country. United States

Blog Categories

recent comments

  • ylhsnlla
    Jul 18, 2017
    1
  • hcsossrk
    Jul 18, 2017
    1
  • aoicbykj
    Jul 18, 2017
    1
  • mdeklaid
    Jul 18, 2017
    1
  • mdeklaid
    Jul 18, 2017
    1
PrestaShop
Throwback reflection: Murakami Ego in Qatar
Throwback reflection: Murakami Ego in Qatar

While most artists claimed that their artworks represent what's on their mind ('Welcome to my Twisted Mind' which is an overrated term coined by so-called creative millennials), Takashi Murakami's exhibition is literally a segment of a city built by himself so he fulfilled the promised title. 

Every few weeks I enjoy looking through my art books collection. And today was one of those days. While I am not much of a hoarder, I collect art books among other things. I\'d like to thank QMA (Qatar Museum Authority) for extensively publish every art books that I thoroughly enjoy - and spent money on.

Everytime there\'s a new art book.

One art book that I felt the need to reflect on was Ego by Takashi Murakami (also because we are on a platform for Japanese enthusiasts). He created a project just for our audience to commemorate the Qatar and Japan relationships in 2012. If you\'d like to know more, visit QMA\'s website here. Interestingly enough that Alim, a fellow artist and designer, mentioned Murakami a few days back and we\'ve briefly discussed it as well. He had a good grip on Murakami\'s works long back while I was just being introduced to it at that point. However, Murakami Ego was his first exhibition experience.

This art book is the most colorful I have to date. Murakamai created a narrative of inspirations from his upbringing in this artbook. He also dwelled in the idea of beauty, mortality and legacy. I say, purchase one to get a good understanding of his reasonings.

While most artists claimed that their artworks represent what\'s on their mind (\'Welcome to my Twisted Mind\' which is an overrated term coined by so-called creative millennials), Takashi Murakami\'s exhibition is literally a segment of a city built by himself so he fulfilled the promised title. His world has been visualized for us. Hence, the title \'Ego\' as he said it himself that "I paint surface of things. My ego is pure surface (in reference to his works). That\'s my self portrait". In my opinion, the artworks are a combination of urban landscape, sculpture, illustrations and animation intended for satire and caricature of his imagination. You see hints of towers, civilians (cute characters that he made), floral and fauna.

Welcome to my twisted mind

His infamous flower

Doha and Tokyo

While I\'m not saying that having massive building blocks equals to a developing society, expensive towers give an indication that something is going right. The parallel between these two nations are interestingly mentioned from Murakami himself stating that both invested heavily in the arts and culture. Personally, I\'m all for this. Both societies have distinct identities that need to be preserved. Another interesting observation is that both rose from the ground rapidly in just over two generations!

(Side note: I\'ve never seen a skyline that is so neatly arranged other than West Bay. It is as if their positions were mapped out from scratch.)

Boring gallery notion - destroyed!

Honestly, the entire exhibition was less of a gallery but more of an amusement park. When one think of an exhibition, it brings tears of boredom for the uneducated (people with no knowledge background of the arts or particular styles and artists) thus excluding a massive demographic within the society. However, Murakami Ego could be enjoyed by all. Alim brought up a very interesting point that "prior to Ego, a lot of the art on display was very one dimensional". Furthermore, neither of us remember the last time Al Riwaq space was being used. To us, Murakami Ego was like a personal debut of Al Riwaq space.

Murakami had destroyed my notion of pop art. When I think of pop art, Andy Warhol came to mind - which is sorta western-centric in my opinion. Having Murakami as an inspiration within my subconscious is a breathe of fresh air. His style has been incorporated into a lot of my works especially color scheme. Alim took it on a completely different level. He purged all his old works to go through a new cycle of rebirth after immersing himself in the exhibition for 5 days in a row.

My first trip to Ego, I stood in front of his "Gero Tan" piece for about 30 minutes. I remember standing there, staring and feeling like everyhing I had done prior to that moment artistically was absolutely useless.

- Alim Salahuddin (artist & designer in Qatar)

I\'m not going to lie that I do the same from time to time. Self-assessment is essential for growth.

I am really looking forward to future Japanese artists in Qatar. That means more art books!

Until we meet again,

Marsya

Instagram & Snapchat: @brbteatime

Marsya Karmila
Jun 21, 2016

Comment

Mr.

1

ylhsnlla
Jul 18, 2017

Leave your comment