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For immediate release Enter Artist Takashi Murakami's Fantasy
World
September 9 - October 12, 2003; presented by Target Stores NEW YORK, May 27, 2003 - This fall, New York City's most famous plaza will be transformed into a fantastical pop cityscape. Takashi Murakami at Rockefeller Center: Reversed Double Helix, a major outdoor art exhibition organized by the Public Art Fund on behalf of Tishman Speyer Properties and presented by Target Stores, will open on September 9, 2003 and run through October 12. This all-encompassing installation-Murakami's most ambitious U.S. solo show to date-will feature all new work including a large freestanding sculpture, two giant floating balloons, and a forest of mushroom seating.A 30-foot-tall Buddha-like figure with multiple arms and a pointed head-the artist's largest sculpture ever-will preside over the scene in 30 Rockefeller Plaza. "Tongari-kun" (Japanese for "Mr. Pointy") as he is known in Murakami's universe of characters, will be flanked by four smaller figures. Low-lying mushrooms, a familiar motif in Murakami's artwork, will surround the central sculpture and serve as seating areas for visitors. Surveying this scene will be two gigantic "eyeball" balloons, each 30 feet in diameter, floating 60 feet in the air above the Rockefeller Center Ice Rink. Murakami will also design the flags surrounding Rockefeller Center to complete the dazzling aesthetic transformation. The exhibition subtitle, "Reversed Double Helix," refers to the twisted spirals of DNA strands and plays upon Murakami's universe of mutant cartoon characters, where wide-eyed mushrooms coexist with multi-armed giants, happy flowers, and elfin creatures. Characterized by horizontality, bright acrylic patterns and flat unblemished surfaces, Murakami's works are an inspired mix of tradition and modernity, as Japanese Nihon-ga paintings of the 19th century meld with pop culture influences like Andy Warhol's Factory and Walt Disney animation. With its formal sophistication and ever-gleeful cast of characters, Murakami's art appeals on a purely visual level even as it references religion, subcultures, and art history. In addition to his work as an artist, Takashi Murakami is a curator, entrepreneur and a student of contemporary Japanese society and its efforts to define itself in a post-war era. His interdisciplinary approach to art production culls from the current popularity of otaku-animated films (anime), comics (manga), music and fashions inspired by Japanese youth culture. In 2000, Murakami curated an exhibition of Japanese art titled Superflat, which acknowledged a movement toward mass produced entertainment and its effects on contemporary aesthetics. Murakami is also internationally recognized for his recent collaboration with designer Marc Jacobs to create handbags and other products for the Louis Vuitton fashion house. About Takashi Murakami About the Public Art Fund Exhibitions at Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center and Public Art Fund have presented other major works of art to the millions of people who visit and work at this New York landmark. Last summer, Nam June Paik's Transmission broadcast a nightly laser display around the plaza. In 2000, Jeff Koons' monumental topiary Puppy blossomed at the foot of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and the following year, Louise Bourgeois presented three massive bronze spiders, including the thirty-foot-tall Maman. In 1998 eight Auguste Rodin bronzes from the Collection of Iris and B. Gerald Cantor were exhibited in the Channel Gardens. Each day an estimated 250,000 people walk through the Rockefeller Plaza complex, which is home to the most famous Christmas Tree in the world. About Target Stores For More information please contact: Douglas Kline Amanda Domizio # # # Contact:
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