Takashi Murakami (村上隆 Murakami Takashi, born 1963) is a Japanese artist. He is the founder of the Superflat movement, a postmodern style influenced by anime. His inspiration for starting the movment was in a variety of eccentric Ukiyo-e artists and Yoshinori Kanada's dragon sequence in the anime film Harmagedon (1983).

His signature (and most infamous) works are "Hiropon" and "My Lonesome Cowboy", two male and female fiberglass sculptures of which simulated body fluids compose the focal point.

Murakami typically conscripts "otaku", artisans whose backgrounds run closer to model and kit-based hobbyists rather than fine-arts craftsmen to design and execute his works. Another "low-art" aspect of Murakami's oeuvre is the decidedly commercial spirit in which his works are presented to the public, as his pieces are sold as mass-produced consumer items.

External links

• Artcyclopedia entry on Takashi Murakami
• The unofficial Takashi Murakami website