Takashi Murakami Flower — What is it?
You’ve likely seen the famous Takashi Murakami Flower somewhere; In a magazine, celebrity home or article online. The famous smiling flower is recognizable for its unique variations, colours and appealing look.
Some don’t understand the reason for its popularity, likely your overthinking it or seem to be unfamiliar with the art world. Murakami is also quite famous for his collaboration on Kanye West’s album cover for Graduation.
Many artists throughout several generations tend to have a famous design or figure like drawing that becomes a staple in their career. Andy Warhol has the famous Campbell’s Soup Can an important part of Pop Art, Keith Haring has his dancing figures and doodle like characters and Blek Le Rat has his famous rat figures.
Takashi Murakami in front of his work. Image via Grailed.
Well Takashi Murakami has his smiling colourful flower design, it’s sort of put him on the map in the art world. Don’t get me wrong Murakami is a great artist and has other great art he’s created but the famous flower is what he’s well known for. The flowers look is joyful, cute and tend to be full of colour .. what’s not to love? And pop culture is obsessed with it, to say the least.
Takashi Murakami Flower, What is it?
Takashi Murakami’s artwork successfully blurs the art between high and lower culture . Takashi has collaborated successfully and used his art to produce products for many large brands. You can find the Murakami flowers today on fine art, pop culture and commercial products. A popular flower collectible is the Murakami plushies.
Takashi Murakami’s multi-colored Flowers has made its mark in the contemporary art world, fashion, pop culture and beyond. Kanye West’s album cover have featured the cheerful character, as well as Kid Cudi’s necklace chain and Drake’s hoodies.
The Flowers have been dominating fashion since 1995 when the first Murakami Flowers artworks were released. Murakami’s Louis Vuitton collaboration that heavily drew from the Flowers lasted nearly two decades. A Supreme x Takashi Murakami flowery box logo raised more than one million dollars for COVID-19 relief.
Soul to Soul — Takashi Murakami
Traditional Japanese painting is the source of the Murakami Flower. In Japanese traditional painting, the flower has been a significant symbol. Some of T akashi Murakami’s flower artwork sells for millions of dollars today.
It has taken over pop culture and Murakami Flowers are now found on many different objects. The Murakami Flower can be found on all things, from food packaging to pop culture and luxury goods.
Japanese Superflat Art Influence
It’s difficult to talk about Takashi Murakami without mentioning the term «Superflat» that he invented. Superflat is a postmodern art music movement founded in Takashi Murakami. Superflat is inspired by Japan’s rich history of flat art.
It is also influenced heavily by manga and anime 2D images, which are both important to Japan’s culture. It is also inspired by Japan’s larger otaku culture. This refers to those who are obsessed with pop culture, including anime and manga.
Superflat, which transforms commercial items into art, blurs the lines between high and lower culture, much like pop art. Murakami believes that Japanese culture has been defined by the flattening between high art and low art.
This means there is very little to distinguish them from one another. Murakami’s contribution to the Japanese Superflat art movement has been tremendous, he’s put the movement on the map. Just like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol put the Pop Art movement on the map in the 90s.
Superflat art is known for its bold, cartoony outlines and flat colors. There are virtually no natural perspective or depth. Murakami’s Celestial Flowers is a clear example of this. While sculptures and paintings are the most popular Superflat artforms today, the movement has had a significant influence on fashion, design, and other creative mediums.
Superflat can be used to describe various flat forms found in Japanese graphic arts. Magna and Anime are two Japanese movements that have influenced the movement.
Takashi Murakami’s Superflat Art Movement includes Japanese graphic arts, animations, pop culture, fine arts, and manga. The major artists considered Superflat are Takashi Murakami, Chiho Aoshima, Mahomi Kunikata, Sayuri Mishima, Yoshitomo Nara, Aya Takano.
Takashi Murakami Flower Meaning
These Murakami Flower drawings go beyond flowers. You can see hidden tears in Murakami’s Flowers. The smiley anime like smiling flower has many assumptions for what is means.
But in 2005 the artist revealed in a New York Times article that his smiling Flowers were a manifestation of the repressed emotions and collective trauma experienced by Japanese residents after the 1945 Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings. The most tragic events to take place in Japan. Murakami wanted to shine a light on what happened and how this catastrophe still effects some in Japan today.
Key Insights
The above picture shows the metaverse worldview designed by the famous Japanese artist Takashi Murakami.
What Murakami wants to reproduce is the landscape of cherry blossoms at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan. In this setting, a fantasy picture of the future virtual space is defined by the Mount Fuji meme, iconic Japanese buildings, and the colored sunflowers.
This picture comes from the roadmap of Takashi Murakami’s NFT project Takashi Murakami. Recently, this project created and initiated by artists has again attracted people’s attention due to “apology” and “airdrop.”
Are NFTs released by modern art masters attractive enough? Is the metaverse full of artistic conception and IPs worth entering? Can Murakami flowers develop into the next blue-chip project under the fame and medium price?
About Murakami Flowers, You Need to Know This
There is no doubt that Murakami.Flowers came from the creation of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. Inspired by 108 kinds of troubles in Buddhism, he combined 108 kinds of backgrounds and flower colors with 108 kinds of flower patterns to form 11,664 Murakami.Flowers NFTs.
Before Flowers became a “flower”, seed distribution was launched, and seeds can be cultivated into Murakami.Flowers.
Murakami.Flowers’s distribution mechanism is also very interesting. It is distributed in 6 types:
- 3000 whitelists, which come from the holders of Murakami drip attribute NFT in CLONE X — X TAKASHI MURAKAMI under RTFKT;
- 78 Zen Number Proof. This is because there are 78 Zen numbers;
- 108 Bonnō Proof, 108 is used to describe 108 kinds of emotion in Buddhism;
- Murakami also reserved 500 NFTs for his related people, relatives, and friends, a total of 1000;
- The remaining 6,751 NFTs are open to public lottery and trading.
Due to the influence of Takashi Murakami in the art world, the Murakami.Flowers project attracted a lot of attention as soon as it was launched. At the same time, the “incubated” NFT — Murakami.Flowers seeds, the number of whitelist applicants exceeded 4.9 million, and the price reached an all-time high of about 10 ETH five days after-sales.
However, unlike most NFT projects, the commercial rights of Murakami.Flowers NFT still belongs to the creator Murakami himself due to Murakami’s fame.
This distinguishes Murakami.Flowers from the NFT project represented by Clone X — Murakami. Flowers is actually more like an art collection. The holder can enjoy and trade but does not have commercial rights to those flowers.
Will Murakami Lucky Cat Airdrop Be the First Step Towards Murakami’s Metaverse?
In Murakami.Flowers’s roadmap, the future of the metaverse is clearly planned. We can also see the colorful and rich metaverse in Murakami’s vision on the official website.
So how to expand the metaverse?
This is what many NFT projects are thinking about. For example, BAYC dropped the variant potion to OG holders and the land Otherdeed for Otherside, and included the NFT role of the BAYC projects.
What do Murakami.Flowers have?
On June 8, Murakami sent an apology on his Twitter: “Dear holders of Murakami.Flowers, I appreciate your continuing patronage, although the project’s floor price and transaction prices remain stagnant. I am very sorry.”
In fact, the price of Murakami.Flowers has entered a quiet period below the peak after the initial FOMO mood. This is not a good thing for the owners, but Takashi Murakami did not allow it to develop. On June 14, six days after the release of the apology, Takashi Murakami airdropped his second collection of NFT — Murakami Lucky Cat to the holders of Murakami.Flowers.
Flowers may not have much room for imagination, because for investors and speculators, Murakami.Flowers is an NFT collection worth collecting. The cute cat that appears in the metaverse of Takahara Murakami has greatly encouraged the holders — at least it has been proved that the OG holders of Murakami.Flowers will continue to be empowered.
We can see from the floor price changes of Murakami.Flowers that after June 14, there was a long lost peak.
However, at present, there is no accurate answer to the questions about the use of the Murakami Lucky Cat, how it will evolve in the future and what role it will play in the entire Murakami’s metaverse.
But in order to celebrate the success of the airdrop, Murakami.Flowers held a joint lottery on social media. The “next NFT collection” announced in the lottery also makes people look forward to the next development of the Murakami Takashi project.
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Company
Kaikai Kiki Co is Takashi Murakami's company which is producing the Murakami.Flower. The company has also created numerous artworks, sculptures, CGI live-action films, TV-series-style animations, and many more. They are also involved in the world of luxury fashion by collaborating with famous and powerful brands, like Louis Vuitton, Vans, Vogüé, Suprême and many other famous brands. [9]
Overview
The Murakami.Flowers is Takashi's first NFT Project. The Non-Fungible Token (NFT) collection features 11,664 flowers that showcase Takashi’s famous artworks. It is a collection of 2D pixelated 12-petal flowers with rare expressions, traits, and backgrounds.
The work is being developed with the number 108 as the keyword, a combination of 108 backgrounds and flower colors make up a field, and there are 108 fields, each field has 108 flower images, resulting in 11,664 flower images in total. The number 108 is a reference to bonnō, or earthly temptations.
Today the Murakami flowers can be seen in fine art, pop culture, fashion, and commercial products. The Murakami Flowers are supposed to be distributed in several steps: to Friends and Family, Whitelist, Public Sale, Lucky 727 Proof, Zen Number Proof and Bonno Proof.
At the time of launch, seeds will be distributed to holders which will then grow into flowers after the public sale. [10] [11]
Whitelist
The whitelist role will only be given to holders of the RTFKT's CLONE X holders, who own the Murakami Drip Series, where 3,500 whitelist roles will be given out also a total of 500 will be given out to Friends and Family. The sale price for the whitelist presale will be at a price of 0.0727 ETH. A total of 4,000 will be given to Friends and Family and Whitelist.
Any role which is left claimed from the total given to the whitelist holders will be offered for public sale.
Public Sale
The Public sale will come in form of lottery entries where a total of 6,751 spots will be given to lucky winners of the lottery and then offered through the public sale.
And then the Lucky 727 Proof. Also, 78 will be given to the Zen Number Proof and finally, 108 will be given to the Bonno Proof.
The Public Sale will be at a price of 0.108 ETH. Each purchase will be limited to one flower per Metamask wallet. [5]
NFT Distribution
| Distributed To | Percentage | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Whitelist Presale | 30% | 3,500 |
| Team, Artist, Family and Friends | 4.3% | 500 |
| Public Sale | 57.9% | 6,751 |
| Lucky 727 | 6.2% | 727 |
| Zen Number Proof | 0.7% | 78 |
| Bonno Proof | 0.9% | 108 |
Events
Takashi plans to hold an event in the summer of 2022. He plans to hold an exhibition at Gagosian, a global gallery specializing in modern and contemporary art. The exhibition will involve a surprise collaboration, as well as presentations of physical paintings and sculptures of Murakami.Flowers.
The event which is called ''An Arrow Through History'' is expected to be held on May 11, 2022, in three simultaneous presentations spanning two of Gagosian’s New York galleries, at 976 and 980 Madison Avenue. During the event, Murakami plans to present his work based on the CLONE X — X Takashi Murakami NFT initiative, which he developed in collaboration with RTFKT Studios and also his newly developed project Murakami.Flowers which includes paintings of the pink-and-white works based on the initial designs for the 11,664 Non-Fungible Token (NFT) series. [1] [2]
Collaboration
Hublot x Takashi Murakami
Hublot, a Swiss luxury watch company, launched two lines of watches with the Murakami.Flowers as a part of the NFT launch. There will be two NFT Digital watch a Hublot Glass Takashi all Black and a Classic fusion Tikashi Saphire Rainbow.
The first NFT based on the All Black version, is a limited edition of 216, while the second, which will recreate the colors of the highly exclusive Sapphire Rainbow version, will be a limited edition of 108. These NFT digital works are mainly intended for the owners of these two limited-edition watches, to whom they will be offered. The current holders of these watches can easily be traced through Hublot’s e-warranty protection and warranty system (a warranty system developed by Hublot, as part of a global trend to tackle corruption and track and trace the product’s life cycle, initiated by LVMH. The Hublot e-warranty is stored in the AURA blockchain). If they want it, watch owners may then receive their free NFT in their E-wallet. In May, Hublot will then open a page on the Decentralized non-fungible token marketplace, where owners may exchange their NFTs. [6]
Artist
Murakami was born on the 1st of February, 1962, in Tokyo, Japan. He received an oil painting degree from Nihon University's College of Arts after studying at Musashino Art University and Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.
Murakami is also the artist behind CLONE X — X Takashi Murakami, a collection of 20,000 avatars with a unique random mix of features in collaboration with RTFKT Studios. [8]
[4]
Takashi Murakami’s Iconic Flowers Are Becoming NFTs
Photo: Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Takashi Murakami hardly needs an introduction, yet, these days, he feels the need to retrace his roots. Ahead of debuting new art and an NFT project called Murakami.Flowers, the Japanese artist has been taking his Instagram followers for a stroll down memory lane. From reflections on his childhood love of anime, to his studies in traditional Japanese painting, to his multi-million dollar art auctions and coveted collaborations, Murakami has been an artistic trailblazer. At the same time, he seems to be looking back in order to move forward, pondering new ways to expand his legacy.
Murakami is an artist of the people, someone whose work is firmly in the art history books and major collections while being accessibly priced as merchandise. He’s collaborated with luxury fashion brands (most famously Louis Vuitton) and musicians (recently J Balvin and Billie Eilish) while exhibiting the works of other artists in his art galleries and cafés in Tokyo. No medium or outlet of expression has been off-limits, so it’s unsurprising that he’s already taken to NFTs, even despite their nascent arrival in the contemporary art world.
Following a blockbuster NFT collaboration with RTFKT (the company recently acquired by Nike), Murakami announced the release of Murakami.Flowers: digital, pixelated interpretations of his beloved flower motif. With its cute, cartoonish appearance, the flower unites classic Japanese nature painting with inspiration from anime and Murakami’s self-described “superflat” aesthetic. After a false start in 2021, Murakami re-announced the project, and its 11,664 handmade flowers, with a spring 2022 release. Around the same time, he began hinting at a connective exhibition at Gagosian Gallery in New York City, opening on May 11, 2022.
Murakami says his team has been working on Murakami.Flowers non-stop since last fall, weaving in influences from Buddhism to gaming. Through the project’s email newsletter, he’s been contemplating the value shift he sees with NFTs and sharing his embrace of this new frontier. Speaking exclusively with AD, Takashi Murakami tells us the origin story of Murakami.Flowers and talks about his new exhibition at Gagosian.
Murakami’s team working on new paintings based on Murakami.Flowers.
Photo: Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
You’re not one to shy away from new mediums. At the same time, you are already a successful artist who, some might say, could keep doing what you’ve done or even retire. Why are you so passionate about both contemporary art and NFTs?
The occasions that opened my eyes to contemporary art—the moments of epiphany—happened when I was an art university student. I remember seeing Robert Ryman’s white-on-white paintings before encountering Jeff Koons’ porcelain Michael Jackson and Bubbles sculpture at Sonnabend Gallery. In both cases, I couldn’t comprehend them at first, but later, once I was able to digest the concepts, I felt a cognitive revolution take place.
These experiences helped me understand the essence of evaluating artworks. It was as if lightning had struck me. I realized that, for the evaluation of a piece of art, superficial qualities or themes are not that important (though of course, they can still get people interested). What truly matters is whether or not the work is proposing a whole new cognitive field within art history.
NFT art inherently expands the cognitive field. When I heard the news about Beeple’s work selling for $75 million at an auction, I got curious about NFTs. From there, I went on to try to understand CryptoPunks and the like. The sensation I had in the process made me see yet another cognitive revolution in contemporary art. And that’s why I wanted to step into the field myself.
Murakami.Flowers uses your well-known flower motif in pixelated form, with its roots in your early nihonga nature paintings. Why did you want to start your NFT journey with the flowers?
To embark on my NFT journey, I decided to start with the flowers, which are at the center of my creative expression. Since my debut, my art has focused on the relationship between the United States and Japan. Who I am today was formed by my childhood consumption and appreciation of ideas such as Godzilla and kaiju, which were born under the circumstances of a nation that surrendered after two atomic bombs were dropped on it. I have always analyzed the culture of the defeated nation.
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I started painting the flower character in my attempt to combine that context with more traditional Japanese culture, focusing on the traditional theme of natural beauty in Japanese painting: “snow, moon, flower” and “flower, birds, wind, moon.”
A baseball player flower NFT on a yellow background.
Photo: Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
One of the signature smiling flowers on a blue background.
Photo: Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Your flowers have already adorned sculptures, paintings, pillows, luxury bags, clothing, music videos, etc. Does their meaning transform or evolve in the context of the metaverse?
It doesn’t really change. In Japanese painting, the theme of natural beauty evokes the sense of seasons for viewers. Looking at a painting, one may think, “Ah, it’s summer,” or “I can feel the spring air,” or “Snowy winter is cold, but it’s so beautiful.” My flowers are symbols that allow you to relive the images you have already experienced.
On your Instagram, you’ve explained how the pandemic and being unable to leave Japan influenced your discovery of NFTs. You’ve also been open about your company being on the verge of bankruptcy and losing your father. Though you’ve had more time, how have you found inspiration to go down this path and create such a high volume of works—11,664 flowers total?
During the early pandemic, when my children couldn’t go to school, they were playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch. They were connected through the game with their friends online, while also chatting over Zoom. I overheard them make a plan to see fireworks the following day and assumed they were going to a real fireworks festival. It turned out it was one of the regular summer events held within Animal Crossing. I was shocked to realize that the fireworks event authentically existed in these children’s minds, and not just as a game.
When I was little, I would also watch imaginary dramas of anime and Ultraman on TV. Though I knew those worlds weren’t real, I desperately kept reconstructing them in my head as real. I could see how, in the children’s heads, a leap of imagination was happening. At first, I wanted to create a game to engage imaginations in the same way. I am still doing this, but first I am going into the world of NFTs.
Murakami’s team at work on the project in the studio.
Photo: Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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You’ve hinted at other projects that the time at home has allowed you to realize, including forthcoming exhibitions, collaborations, another Jellyfish Eyes film, and a video game. What can you tell us about your May 2022 exhibition at Gagosian, including how it connects to Murakami.Flowers?
In this exhibition, I will be creating and presenting three bodies of work with different themes: Murakami.Flowers, my Clone X collaboration with RTFKT, and paintings inspired by Qinghua, which are blue-and-white ceramics from Yuan dynasty China. At first, Gagosian’s owner, Larry Gagosian, asked me to paint seven Qinghua paintings with fish motifs, so I was just working on them. The timing was such that I asked if I could also show works related to Clone X and Murakami.Flowers, and he agreed. I decided to present the three shows simultaneously and give the exhibition an overarching title, “An Arrow Through History.” Japanese culture originally came from the Eurasian continent, and my concept has been to go beyond, from there into the metaverse, shooting through the history of art with a single arrow. I think it worked out well.
Do you see the contemporary art world and NFT world becoming one in the future?
I think the world of the metaverse will become just like the current internet world. I spend about 19 hours a day looking at my phone, and I believe an increasing number of people will become immersed in the metaverse at the same level. In that sense, I believe artworks in the metaverse will come to exist at a scale comparable to artworks in the current “real” world.
Ahead of the Murakami.Flowers release, you have been notably communicative via an email newsletter and social media posts, where you give insight into your philosophies and process. In some cases, it reads as if you’re introducing yourself for the first time, despite having an acclaimed 31-year career. With Murakami.Flowers, does it feel like you’re starting over in any way?
I think most of the NFT users are younger or in their teens, so it’s likely that no one knows about a 60-year-old like me. That’s why I’m explaining myself. It’s like Dragon Ball Z’s Kame Sennin, a.k.a. Master Roshi, introducing himself. It’s like I’m saying, “Do you know this old guy?”
A bloody flower on a magenta background.
Photo: Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
A sad flower on a green background.
Photo: Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
You’ve said that NFTs are potentially “a first step towards future values that we don’t yet begin to understand.” Do you have any hopes for these future values?
Now that I’m 60, I’ve witnessed how computers for home use emerged and how the internet world arose from zero. Now, we can computerize everything on our mobile phones, but 20 years ago, it was impossible to even imagine. In 20 more years, I bet mobile devices themselves will be gone. I imagine that, by then, what you think in your brain will be instantaneously realized. In a world where humans are completely changed, we’ll be forced to think about what art is, and new values will be generated from that contemplation.