Takashi Murakami at the Broad

In 2007, my best friend in high school and I somehow came across the Murakami exhibit at the MOCA Geffen. We had bonded over a number of things, but mainly a deep connection with art. It was never actually said, but we knew we were the favorite art students when we kept landing free field trips with Ms. Priest so we were on a high off that LA art scene experience. We were getting those tickets that allowed us a couple free visits to the MOCA and I vaguely remember telling my friends about this exhibit.

It was different, yet familiar. It was colorful and it had anime? We were so used to seeing fine art in the gaze of a singular demographic that it was exciting to see something that we related to. Granted, we didn’t know shit about Murakami’s art. We were teenagers barely understanding how to even properly conceptualize the process of critiquing and scratching the surface of art history. We just knew this appealed to us.

Reflecting back now, even though we weren’t Japanese, it kind of felt like we were being seen for the first time. We grew up watching anime, reading manga, attaching ourselves to fictional characters. This was a person of asian descent that wasn’t putting out work that felt like it came out of our art history books. I mean, it was evident that there was cultural influence involved, but this was pop culture at its finest, and we knew it was something special when we started seeing it in the mainstream like on Kanye West’s Graduation album.

Now 15 years later, I find out that Murakami is having an exhibit at the Broad. Guess who I called up? My best friend Celine. Our friendship is still going strong, but this time, we have another best friend named Carlos, and we went to experience this one together.

Here is Celine and I standing in front of one of the first painting we saw as teenagers. This wasn’t from 2007, but from a 2009 exhibit. Nonetheless, it was a nostalgic moment for both of us. I think I still have a postcard of this painting lying around somewhere in a memorabilia box.

This exhibit was a blend of new and old work; it’s almost like seeing these character developments without realizing it, but you can see how Murakami’s detailing has changed to more complex textures and material that it can sometimes trick the eye. The larger works are reminiscent of Japanese screens with how the images are illustrated and its way of storytelling through each panel. Despite Murakami’s more “fun” approach to art, each piece of imagery has a deeper meaning and often discusses social and environmental topics.