Takashi Murakami is one of the most thoughtful-and thought-provoking-Japanese artists of the 1990s. His work ranges from cartoony paintings to quasi-minimalist sculptures to giant inflatable balloons to performance events to factory-produced watches, T-shirts, and other products, many emblazoned with his signature character, Mr. DOB. Murakami mixes and morphs on canvas, light boxes, posters, and other mediums. His rich body of work reflects his voracious appetite for postwar history, art, and popular culture from Japan and the West, and has attracted the attention of the international art world. 
Takashi Murakami is the first monograph on this important artist. With reproductions of dozens of Murakami's works, insightful essays, and an exuberant Tokyo-pop design, this book will appeal to contemporary art fans as well as people interested in anime (animation films), manga (comics), and other aspects of Japanese popular culture. 
110 illustrations, 93 in full color, 9 1/2 x 11 1/2" 
AMADA CRUZ is director of the Center for Curatorial Studies Museum at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. 
DANA FRIIS-HANSEN is chief curator at the Austin Museum of Art, Texas. 
MIDORI MATSUI is associate professor of American Studies at Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.

Takashi Murakami: The Meaning of the Nonsense of the Meaning

Arts & Photography

Matsui, Midori

Friis-Hansen, Dana

Cruz, Amanda

Individual Artists

Harry N. Abrams

With the hotly discussed resurgence of painting at the dawn of the new century, it is clear that reports of the medium's death have been greatly exaggerated. "Painting at the Edge of the World" explores the possibilities of a redefinition and ''hybridization'' of painting begun in the 1960s, examining the manifestations of these new artistic vistas in the present day. This full-color catalogue features illustrations and a variety of critical texts by some of the most exciting established and emerging critical voices working today, in addition to work by an international and intergenerational group of artists hailing from places as diverse as Brazil, Ethiopia, Germany, South Africa, Scotland, Japan, Belgium, Iran, Italy, and the United States. Designed in two sections--a gatefold plate section containing reproductions of the work, and a french-folded section containing critical essays--the book brings together a wide range of contemporary views on painting from a diverse array of disciplines, including the visual arts, film, architecture, design, and music in an attempt to assess the relevance of painting in the contemporary global context. In addition, "Painting at the Edge of the World" includes documentation of each artist's work and an examination of their artistic methodology. Essays by: Daniel Birnbaum, Paulo Herkenhoff, Midori Matsui, Jorg Heiser, Frances Stark, Andrew Blauvelt, Reindaldo Laddaga, Yves-Alain Bois, Helio Oiticica, Takashi Murakami, Mike Kelley, and Cuauhtemoc Medina. Introduction by Douglas Fogle. Featuring artworks by: Franz Ackerman, Haluk Akakçe, Francis Alÿs, Kevin Appel, Marcel Broodthaers, John Currin, Marlene Dumas, Andreas Gursky, Eberhard Havekost, Arturo Herrera, Mike Kelley, Martin Kippenberger, Udomsak Krisanamis, Jim Labie, Margherita Manzelli, Paul McCarthy, Lucy McKenzie, Julie Mehretu, Takashi Murakami, Nader, Chris Ofili, Helio Oiticica, Michael Raedecker, Thomas Scheibitz, Rudolph Stingel, Hiroshi Sugito, Paul Thek, and Richard Wright. Paperback, 6.5 x 9 inches, 256 pages, 175 color illustrations.

Painting at the Edge of the World

Halbreich, Kathy

History & Criticism

Walker Art Center

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