This thesis maps Takashi Murakami's Theory of Superflat Art and his associated artistic practices and works. The study situates Murakami and Superflat within the context of globalising culture. The thesis interrogates Murakami's art and the theory of superflat within the historical, social, and cultural contexts of their production-consumption in Japan, the United States, and Europe. The thesis identifies Superflat art and Murakami's work as actively participating in, and expressing, the cultural conditions associated with the 'global postmodern' and globalisation processes. The thesis employs a Cultural Studies theoretical and heuristic framework, utilising a range of contemporary critical theorisations on postmodern art, Japanese cultural identity and globalisation. This framework and approach are adopted in order to draw attention to ways in which Murakami and Superflat articulate and represent the fundamental contentions and dialogues that characterise contem porary globalisation processes. The tensions that are articulated in relation to the discursive construction of the concepts of art/commodity, modern/postmodern and global/local cultural identities. Importantly, this research demonstrates the ways in which Murakami both participates in, and challenges, the conceptual distinctions indexed within the concepts of 'art' as an aesthetic expression and 'commodity' as an object of symbolic exchange in the global marketplace. It interprets Superflat as an 'expressivity' that challenges binary demarcations being constructed between art and commercial culture, and between the aesthetic-cultural identities of Japan and the West. This thesis problematises the meaning of Murakami's concept and aesthetic of Superflat art by drawing attention to these contestations within Murakami's works and Superflat which are generated as they circulate globally. The thesis argues that Murakami strategically presents his work and Superflat art as an expression of Japanese identity which paradoxically also expresses the fluid imaginings of cultural identity available through contemporary global exchanges. This deliberate territorialising and deterritorialising impulse does not resolve the contentions emerging in globalisation, but rather amplifies them, exposing the key debates on the formation of cultural identity as an oppositional expression and as a commodity in global markets. The concept of 'strategic essentialism' is used as a theoretical lens in order to understand Murakami and Superflat's activation of these global processes. This research contributes a valuable case study to the understanding of cultural production as a strategic negotiation and expression of the flows of capital and culture in globalisation.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Canterbury, 2007. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 185-200). Also available via the World Wide Web.

In the mid-1990s, Japanese artists Mariko Mori (b. 1962) and Takashi Murakami (b. 1967) began creating works that referenced Japanese popular culture tropes such as sexuality, technology and the idea of kawaii, or cute. These tropes were associated with emerging youth cultures instigating a “soft rebellion” against social conventions. While emancipated female youths, or shōjo, were criticized for lifestyles based on the consumption of kawaii goods, their male contemporaries, the otaku were demonized for a fetishization of kawaii girls and technology through anime and manga, or animation and comic books. Destabilizing the nation’s patriarchal theory of cultural uniqueness, or nihonjinron, the youth triggered fears of a growing infantilized, feminized automaton ‘alien’ society during Japan’s economically tumultuous 1990s. In response to these trends, Mori and Murakami create works and personae that celebrate Japan’s emerging heterogeneity and reveal that Japan’s fear of the ‘alien within’ is a result of a tenuous post-war Japanese-American relationship. But in denoting America’s position in Japan’s psyche, Mori’s and Murakami’s illustration of Japan as both victim and threat encourages Orientalist and Techno-Orientalist readings. The artists’ ambivalence towards Western stereotypes in their works and personae, as well as their distortion of boundaries between commercial and fine art, intimate a collusion between commercialization, art and cultural identity. Such acts suggest that in the global economy of art production, Japanese cultural identity has become as much as a brand, as art a commodity. In this ambivalent perspective, the artists isolate the relatively recent difficulty of enunciating Japanese cultural identity in the international framework. With the downfall of its cultural homogeneity theory, Japan faced a crisis of representation. Self-Orientalization emerged as a cultural imperative for stabilizing a coherent national identity, transposing blame for Japan’s social and economic disrepair onto America. But by relocating Japanese self-Orientalization within the global art market, Mori and Murakami suggest that as non-Western artists, economic viability is based upon their ability to cultivate desirability, not necessarily authenticity. In the international realm, national identity has become a brand based upon the economies of desire, predicated by external consumption, rather than an internalized production of meaning.

In the mid-1990s, Japanese artists Mariko Mori (b. 1962) and Takashi Murakami (b. 1967) began creating works that referenced Japanese popular culture tropes such as sexuality, technology and the idea of kawaii, or cute. These tropes were associated with emerging youth cultures instigating a “soft rebellion” against social conventions. While emancipated female youths, or shōjo, were criticized for lifestyles based on the consumption of kawaii goods, their male contemporaries, the otaku were demonized for a fetishization of kawaii girls and technology through anime and manga, or animation and comic books. Destabilizing the nation’s patriarchal theory of cultural uniqueness, or nihonjinron, the youth triggered fears of a growing infantilized, feminized automaton ‘alien’ society during Japan’s economically tumultuous 1990s. In response to these trends, Mori and Murakami create works and personae that celebrate Japan’s emerging heterogeneity and reveal that Japan’s fear of the ‘alien within’ is a result of a tenuous post-war Japanese-American relationship. But in denoting America’s position in Japan’s psyche, Mori’s and Murakami’s illustration of Japan as both victim and threat encourages Orientalist and Techno-Orientalist readings. The artists’ ambivalence towards Western stereotypes in their works and personae, as well as their distortion of boundaries between commercial and fine art, intimate a collusion between commercialization, art and cultural identity. Such acts suggest that in the global economy of art production, Japanese cultural identity has become as much as a brand, as art a commodity. In this ambivalent perspective, the artists isolate the relatively recent difficulty of enunciating Japanese cultural identity in the international framework. With the downfall of its cultural homogeneity theory, Japan faced a crisis of representation. Self-Orientalization emerged as a cultural imperative for stabilizing a coherent national identity, transposing blame for Japan’s social and economic disrepair onto America. But by relocating Japanese self-Orientalization within the global art market, Mori and Murakami suggest that as non-Western artists, economic viability is based upon their ability to cultivate desirability, not necessarily authenticity. In the international realm, national identity has become a brand based upon the economies of desire, predicated by external consumption, rather than an internalized production of meaning.

In the mid-1990s, Japanese artists Mariko Mori (b. 1962) and Takashi Murakami (b. 1967) began creating works that referenced Japanese popular culture tropes such as sexuality, technology and the idea of kawaii, or cute. These tropes were associated with emerging youth cultures instigating a “soft rebellion” against social conventions. While emancipated female youths, or shōjo, were criticized for lifestyles based on the consumption of kawaii goods, their male contemporaries, the otaku were demonized for a fetishization of kawaii girls and technology through anime and manga, or animation and comic books. Destabilizing the nation’s patriarchal theory of cultural uniqueness, or nihonjinron, the youth triggered fears of a growing infantilized, feminized automaton ‘alien’ society during Japan’s economically tumultuous 1990s. In response to these trends, Mori and Murakami create works and personae that celebrate Japan’s emerging heterogeneity and reveal that Japan’s fear of the ‘alien within’ is a result of a tenuous post-war Japanese-American relationship. But in denoting America’s position in Japan’s psyche, Mori’s and Murakami’s illustration of Japan as both victim and threat encourages Orientalist and Techno-Orientalist readings. The artists’ ambivalence towards Western stereotypes in their works and personae, as well as their distortion of boundaries between commercial and fine art, intimate a collusion between commercialization, art and cultural identity. Such acts suggest that in the global economy of art production, Japanese cultural identity has become as much as a brand, as art a commodity. In this ambivalent perspective, the artists isolate the relatively recent difficulty of enunciating Japanese cultural identity in the international framework. With the downfall of its cultural homogeneity theory, Japan faced a crisis of representation. Self-Orientalization emerged as a cultural imperative for stabilizing a coherent national identity, transposing blame for Japan’s social and economic disrepair onto America. But by relocating Japanese self-Orientalization within the global art market, Mori and Murakami suggest that as non-Western artists, economic viability is based upon their ability to cultivate desirability, not necessarily authenticity. In the international realm, national identity has become a brand based upon the economies of desire, predicated by external consumption, rather than an internalized production of meaning. / Arts, Faculty of / Art History, Visual Art and Theory, Department of / Graduate

GEISAI自2001年開始，以每年兩次的頻率於日本舉行，至今已逾十年，2009年起原裝移植台灣，於台北市中心華山1914文創園區盛大開辦。GEISAI中文翻譯為「藝祭」，命名取自美術大學學園祭，由日本當代藝術家村上隆所領導的Kaikai Kiki公司所主辦，為一個讓各式各樣的藝術家齊聚一堂一同展覽的藝術活動。它不僅是「挖掘夢想出道藝術家的場所」，同時也是個「像跳蚤市場一樣輕鬆展示買賣藝術作品的場所」和「跟已開創的美術界接軌的新起點」。 時至今日，GEISAI儼然已成為台灣藝術家每年的一個重要活動。GEISAI最吸引人的莫過於其「無先前審查制度」，以及「黃金評審團」，提供藝術家、藝術相關人士與一般藝術迷相遇的場所，不僅給予對藝術有熱情者展演舞台，也造就了許多藝術新秀。 本研究得出幾點結論如下： 1. GEISAI的核心價值主張十年來皆本著「如何建立東方新型態的藝術市場」的態度去執行，從未改變。台日GEISAI由於國家習慣、資金組成不同，而有相對應的舉行方式。 2. 活動若能長久經營，必須堅持一核心的價值主張。明確的價值主張除能使活動更為聚焦外，也能持續吸引未被滿足的潛在消費者加入。 3. 具強烈信任感、合作無間的執行團隊為活動長期經營的要件之一。 4. 對實質付出大於無形收穫的活動而言，理想的堅持是持續經營的原動力。 / Since 2001, GEISAI has been held bi-annually in Japan for over 10 years. It took place at Huashan1914 Creative Park in Taiwan since 2009. The name GEISAI is derived from the Japanese word for "art festival." Such festivals would typically take place within a university or art school. It held by Kaikaikiki Co., Ltd belongs to Takashi Murakami. GEISAI presents a new art-collecting concept, allowing artists to exhibit their own works directly. It is a place where new artists can make their mark, where art work can be easily traded, and where the new and old can connect. Nowadays, GEISAI became an important activity of artists every year. The most attractions of GEISAI are "Non-Entry-Requirement" and "All-Star panel of judges". GEISAI provides a place where many artists gather to exhibit their works. It also provides artists and fans a place to meet face-to-face. More importantly, GEISAI provides new artists show-off opportunities and creates many new stars of art. The conclusions of this research can be summarized as below: 1. The core value proposition of GEISAI is based on "how to establish new ear art market" for 10 years. GEISAI&GEISAI Taiwan held in different way due to their national habit and capital composition. 2. Activity has to insist on its core value for the sustainable development. Specific value can not only focus on the activity but also attract unsatisfied potential customers continually. 3. A team with strong faith and cooperation is one of the key factors of sustainable development. 4. As an activity which its tangible devotion is more over than intangible income, the insist of ideal is the motivation of sustainable development.

Korean folk religion is often mentioned in the publications of western Christian missionaries, who have carried out their missionary work in Korea and it has also become a popular research topic of Japanese researchers during the time of Japanese annexation of Korea (1910-1945). This thesis compares the contents of chosen publications from the first half of 20th century of western and Japanese authors that deal with Korean shamanism in hope of confirming or refute the hypothesis that Korean negative view of the Japanese research is caused not by the factual mistakes in said publications, but rather is due to the rivalry between both nations. Unfortunately, while absolute confirmation or refutation of the hypothesis was not possible, we can see a tendency of Korean academia to excuse the mistakes in publications of western authors due to their lack of knowledge of the Korean culture and on the other hand dismiss the Japanese research because of the authors' connection to the colonial government.

Korean folk religion is often mentioned in the publications of western Christian missionaries, who have carried out their missionary work in Korea and it has also become a popular research topic of Japanese researchers during the time of Japanese annexation of Korea (1910-1945). This thesis compares the contents of chosen publications from the first half of 20th century of western and Japanese authors that deal with Korean shamanism in hope of confirming or refute the hypothesis that Korean negative view of the Japanese research is caused not by the factual mistakes in said publications, but rather is due to the rivalry between both nations. Unfortunately, while absolute confirmation or refutation of the hypothesis was not possible, we can see a tendency of Korean academia to excuse the mistakes in publications of western authors due to their lack of knowledge of the Korean culture and on the other hand dismiss the Japanese research because of the authors' connection to the colonial government.

Drawing on archetypical aspects of human characteristics and personalities, I create images that illustrate our connection to memory, media, and culture. My work is informed by pop culture, including television, movies, cartoons and comic books as it relates to characters in our own physical world and society. The grid is used to represent both childhood games and the frames of a comic strip, where each panel equals an exact moment of time.

本研究提出「紐約當代藝術家經營模式」的研究架構，其後進行個案研究，觀察蔡國強與村上隆兩位國際級的當代藝術家的創作內涵與經營事蹟，使讀者與後續研究者能夠有系統地解讀其藝術事業的具體結構。 / This study first proposes the research framework of " Business Model of New York contemporary artists ", then does a case study on two world-class contemporary artists, Cai Guo Qiang and Takashi Murakami, and observe their creation and business in order that the readers and future researchers can interpret the concrete structure of their artistic business in a systematic manner.