8BitKid: Living Bit by Bit

This past weekend I finally made it to the Takashi Murakami exhibit at the LA Musuem of Contemporary Art. I tried to go last weekend, but, after making it through exactly one room, the entire facility was evacuated due to an underground explosion.

Despite this setback, some friends and I went for strike two (strike three for a couple) and were not disappointed. Murakami is the founder of the “Superflat” style, and I first encountered his works when I attended the exhibit at the NY Japan Society called, “Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture” that explored the impact that the atomic bomb had on Japanese culture. Murakami’s sensory-overloaded pop style is inspired by and also subverts Japanese otaku culture by twisting conventions of anime and manga. The exhibit not only features his artwork, but also a bevy of sculptures as well as several film explorations.

The exhibit runs through February 11th, and I highly recommend taking the time to soak it in before it ends.