Takashi Murakami

Blum & Poe, Santa Monica
Sale: Christie's, New York, Post-War and Contemporary Art, 7 February 2008, Lot 460
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Amada Cruz, Dana Friis-Hansen & Midori Matsui, Takashi Murakami: The Meaning of the Nonsense of the Meaning, New York 1999, pp. 60-61, no. 27, illustrated in colour 
Takashi Murakami, DOB in the Strange Forest, Tokyo 1999, p. 28, no. 20, illustrated in colour (titled incorrectly)

Colour: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate, although the overall tonality is much brighter and more vibrant, and the illustration fails to fully convey the silver pigment of the background in the original. Condition: This work is in very good condition. Upon close inspection there is some extremely light wear to the top extreme edge of the canvas, and a short, faint rub mark towards the bottom left corner. Some of the stretcher nail heads are visible beneath the canvas around the top, left and lower extreme edges, original to the work's execution. on close examination in raking light, there are a few extremely minor and unobtrusive surface imperfections, the majority in the top right quadrant. No restoration is apparent when examined under ultraviolet light.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

"Mr Dob has now become a kind of self-portrait."

Takashi Murakami in conversation with Helene Kelmachter, Paris 2002, p. 75

In the mid-1990s, Murakami set sail from otaku towards kawaii researching cute cartoon characters. Such characters, of course, had been a mainstay of Pop Art in the United States since the early 60s. Warhol used images of Mickey Mouse. Lichtenstein raided the funny pages. Murakami, however, did something else: he created his own characters. His first, Mr. DOB, got his name from an abbreviation of a nonsensical phrase that alluded to many things: a popular television entertainer, a sexual innuendo and the indigenous Ainu people. Initially, the DOB character resembled Mickey, but over time he evolved, first turning toothy and fierce, then becoming terribly cute - kawaii. Like otaku culture, kawaii culture is for Murakami an expression of Japan's post-war impotence.

Mineral Pigment owes a debt to American art in that its core is an image of Mr. DOB as a mutant, post-apocalyptic Mickey Mouse. Vicious, grotesque, and fierce, flashing a toothy grin and peering with multiple eyes that see everything yet cares for nothing, in the present work Mr. DOB is the antithesis of Disney's sentimental characters. Since his initial creation Mr. Dob reflects the persona of its creator, a characterisation of Murakami's alter-ego, and has undergone numerous transformations evolving to occasionally verge on the monstrous. The subtle layering of colours as seen in the present example with long intertwined strands of mineral helixes flow across the canvas, twisting with DOB characters bearing fractured shard-like teeth interspersed with monstrously beautiful jellyfish eyes.

The meticulous execution of Mineral Pigment presents the viewer with a blend of fantasy, apocalypse and innocence to express an overwhelming cry and expresses the artist's respect for metamorphosis in animated films and manga.