Tuesday, February 16 saw the staging of two MAMC membership program events - MAMC Night and the MAMC Annual Cocktail Party - at the “Takashi Murakami: The 500 Arhats” exhibition.
Up first was MAMC Night, the evening kicking off with a gallery tour by Mori Art Museum Director Nanjo Fumio. “Murkami's 100-meter-long epic painting The 500 Arhats is the centerpiece of the show, but it also features around 30 other pieces of the artist's most recent output.” And in the midst of introducing some of those works, Nanjo was “so rudely interrupted” by members' cries of surprise when Murkami suddenly strode into the gallery.
Murakami was honored with a Minister of Education Award for Art for the exhibition “Takashi Murakami: The 500 Arhats.”
When The 500 Arhats was originally shown in Qatar in 2012, it was actually unfinished. The complete version of the work was on view for the very first time at this exhibition.
Nanjo expresses his suspicion that the arhat holding a paintbrush is none other than Murakami himself.
MAMC Nights always welcome lots of members, but attendance on this occasion outnumbered all other stagings of the event, reflecting the tremendous interest people had for the “Takashi Murakami: The 500 Arhats” exhibition.
A scene from the gallery tour
The end of MAMC Night marked the beginning of the MAMC Annual Cocktail Party, another members-only calendar event. This year Kasahara Chiaki, a producer at Murakami Takashi's art company Kaikai Kiki, took the mic, and spoke about the work environment surrounding artist Takashi Murakami - the history of Kaikai Kiki, how their exhibitions and projects proceed, and much more.
Nanjo made a toast, and the MAMC Annual Cocktail Party got rolling.
Kasahara, who was originally the editor of a magazine, said that it was her work on the “Superflat” (an exhibition organized by Murakami) book 15 years ago that led to her working with together with him.
Kaikai Kiki, which today employs a staff of about 200, started out with about 10 student volunteers. Back then it was rather unusual, not only in Japan but also the world over, for artist to run a company, but doing so we were told was necessary in order for Murakami to produce the kind of artwork he envisioned.
Kaikai Kiki producer Kasahara Chiaki
The “Takashi Murakami: The 500 Arhats” exhibition attracted more than 310,000 visitors during its run, but did people see how many names were credited at the back of the catalogue? These were the names of the great many people who were involved in making this show a reality. Kaikai Kiki credits everyone involved in all of their exhibitions, partly because they want people to know just how many people's help they've relied on to stage each show. If you have a copy of the catalogue, do have a look.
The cocktail party took place at the museum restaurant THE MOON, where a special menu was prepared for the occasion.
It was special treat indeed to learn the story of Kaikai Kiki from its inception to this day, about how their exhibitions and projects are launched and undertaken, not to mention to be privy to the behind-the-scenes anecdotes. MAMC members inspired by Kasahara's talk had to have been many.
Kasahara Chiaki of Kaikai Kiki (left) with Mori Art Museum Director Nanjo Fumio (right)
The next staging of MAMC Night is planned for Tuesday, April 12, in conjunction with the “Roppongi Crossing 2016: My Body, Your Voice” exhibition opening on Saturday March 26. MAMC members will be notified via MAMC MEMBERS' EXPRESS (the e-newsletter for members). We look forward to seeing you there!
Text: Imamura Akiko (Marketing Group, Mori Art Museum)
Photo: Mikuriya Shinichiro
■Relevant Information
• MAMC Membership
• Members' activities report
• “Takashi Murakami: The 500 Arhats”
Saturday, October 31, 2015- Sunday, March 6, 2016
• “Roppongi Crossing 2016: My Body, Your Voice”
Saturday, March 26-Sunday, July 10, 2016
• MAMC members' event
"MAMC Night & Annual Cocktail Party" to be held on February 16!
