Innovating Heritage: Takashi Murakami Illuminates Treasures of the Past at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum
Text: Masako Shiba
Takashi Murakami's solo exhibition “Unfamiliar People: Swelling of Monsterized Human Ego”1 at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum recently opened, showcasing his works from the past three decades. ONBD co-founder Masako, who contributed her insights as an NFT specialist to the exhibition catalogue, shared her thoughts on how the museum tackled the challenge of showcasing Murakami's NFT projects within an art historical context. Now, after experiencing the exhibition in person, she offers additional reflections on this groundbreaking exhibition curated by the talented Laura W. Allen.
The first thing that hit me when visiting the exhibition is when I saw Murakami’s work based on the Chinese artifact “Lidded jar with design of a lotus pond” from the Ming period, and then realized that the original is on view at the museum, just upstairs! What a profound homage to history, emphasizing the profound truth that all contemporary art is rooted in the traditions of the past. In fact, every artistic creation is an evolution, building upon the foundations laid by artistic pioneers. The significance of showcasing Murakami’s works in a museum housing a rich collection of Asian antiquities cannot be overstated. It elevates the exhibition, infusing it with a deeper meaning and connecting the present with historical legacy, making this artistic endeavor profoundly evocative.
Another thing I noticed – a continuation of that observation of how contemporary works are built upon older works – Murakami even re-interpreted his own work with a new version of “My Lonesome Cowboy.” The original sculpture from 1998 is arguably one of the most iconic works by Murakami. It was a sensation when it came out, a huge fiberglass and iron sculpture of a naked anime boy, holding its erect penis, his ejaculating semen strung like a lasso. A bold, in your face depiction of sexualization of Japanese Otaku culture, it also made headlines when it sold at auction for $15.1 million in 2008, making it one of the most expensive works by a living artist sold at the time.
Now, over 20 years after its debut, it is shown with a new meaning. In the exhibition at San Francisco, the work is not shown for its sensational male eroticism; in fact, the only thing visible is the head of the figure. He is no longer grinning, he is calm, gazing coolly towards the spectator, clothed and even accessorized. His lasso? - now only shown as a liquid pattern in the background. This is the depiction of the cowboy figure as a Clone X avatar. The 2022 “CLONE X x TAKASHI MURAKAMI #2 Lonesome Cowboy” is an acrylic on canvas painting, with a faint touch of 凹凸 as if this is a digital glitch occurrence made visible by hand. It has a very different look and feel from the original sculpture.
Furthermore, delving into the catalogue section where the scholar Hiroko Ikeda interviews Murakami, it revealed an intriguing point: Murakami did not personally select the Lonesome Cowboy as a Clone X avatar—it was the decision of RTFKT, the masterminds behind the Clone X project. They chose it purely by how it visually appealed to them as an avatar character. Murakami finds it interesting that RTFKT had no reference point to what he originally artistically intended, and instead found a completely new way to appreciate his work. He surmises that RTFKT has such deep admiration and understanding of films and anime especially from the 80s and 90s, that their avatars (Clone Xs) are more of an homage to that stylistic expression, which tends to be more android-like. Now that his notorious character has been given a new life as one of the most sought after ‘NFT traits’ within the collection, he depicted the image as a painting! Hence, the painting is not the NFT, but rather, a depiction of Murakami’s fascination towards his own work given a new life ‘as’ an NFT.
The Murakami retrospective contains such a wide variety of works from his past to present that it allows us to discover how even the perspective on his established body of work has shifted over the years, which on its own symbolizes our evolving appreciation for art in the digital age—a profound attempt at redefining how we perceive and embrace NFTs as a legitimate form of artistic expression.
"Takashi Murakami: Unfamiliar People: Swelling of Monsterized Human Ego" is at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco from September 15, 2023, to February 12, 2024. Masako Shiba (the author of this article) has contributed to the exhibition's catalog."
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As we eagerly anticipate the solo exhibition of Takashi Murakami at the SF Asian Art Museum in September 2023, it is worth exploring the intriguing concept of CloneX within the broader context of his artistic practice. While traditionally, art historical analysis has provided insights into Murakami's work, it is important to acknowledge the significance…
