The Broad Opens Its Inaugural Exhibition – Part Two

"In the Land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow", 2014
“In the Land of the Dead, Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow”, 2014

Downstairs on the 1st floor of the Broad is a recent body of work by the Superflat movement leader Takashi Murakami (@takashipom).  There are other works on the first floor, but it is largely dominated by the works of Murakami.  The common motif in these works is the catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami off the Pacific coast of Tohoku in Japan.  The emotions and devastations felt as the aftermath of the disaster overtook the livelihood of the Japanese people served as an artistic inspiration for Murakami.

IMG_4007

IMG_4008

IMG_4019

IMG_4013

IMG_4016

IMG_4042

IMG_4043

IMG_4048

A 82 ft long and 10 ft tall masterwork completed in 2014 by the artist took up two full walls of the large hall.  It told a beautiful story of a mischievous sea god that caused numerous deaths and the survivors that braved through the storm on the sea finally meet prosperity and peace.  However, the prosperity and peace lead to greed and gluttony that foretells another disaster soon to come.  I tried to capture that story in the set of pictures after the break:

IMG_4026

IMG_4027

IMG_4028

IMG_4031

IMG_4032

IMG_4033

IMG_4034

Here’s a bonus picture of an Ed Ruscha canvas piece on the 1st floor:

IMG_3998

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *