Walking into the Murakami exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art was intimidating. As I know little about art, naturally I was slightly apprehensive to be in a building solely dedicated to something I hardly understand. As a whole, the art from the exhibit seemed to change drastically as we moved throughout the display. Some pieces seemed humorless while others were risible; some towered over everything, while others could easily be missed. One piece, however, seemed to catch my attention. “Kōrin: Tranquility” had elements that persuaded me to take a closer look. It’s shiny background and chromatic appearance gave me a feeling of happiness and life. As I studied the piece, I noticed faces that had looks of both surprise and joy on each of
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Did the ombre effect on the edges of the leaves have anything to do with it’s importance? What was the meaning of the piece as a whole? I struggled to find a reason for why Murakami created this piece; I decided that it was merely to show optimism and joy through a relatable element like flowers. After looking at it for some time, I noticed a placard on the wall next to the painting. One line of the writing on the wall mentioned outlines of skulls in the background. I had not seen them before, but pressed into the metallic background were tiny outlines of skulls. This discovery brought meaning to the piece. I interpreted, with help from the placard, that the skulls represented death within all life. Meaning that no matter how much life there is, death will inevitably come and take it away in the end because everything living must die eventually. It is symbolic that the flowers lay on top of the the skulls because it shows that death is creeping up from behind even when those of the living least expect it to. It was seemingly possible that the way the leaves faded into darker shades of color near their edges represented a slow death for those living things that do not die abruptly. The piece’s main focus was to show people that they are not immune to bad fortune and can fall victim to desperation and misery just as every other living
Did the ombre effect on the edges of the leaves have anything to do with it’s importance? What was the meaning of the piece as a whole? I struggled to find a reason for why Murakami created this piece; I decided that it was merely to show optimism and joy through a relatable element like flowers. After looking at it for some time, I noticed a placard on the wall next to the painting. One line of the writing on the wall mentioned outlines of skulls in the background. I had not seen them before, but pressed into the metallic background were tiny outlines of skulls. This discovery brought meaning to the piece. I interpreted, with help from the placard, that the skulls represented death within all life. Meaning that no matter how much life there is, death will inevitably come and take it away in the end because everything living must die eventually. It is symbolic that the flowers lay on top of the the skulls because it shows that death is creeping up from behind even when those of the living least expect it to. It was seemingly possible that the way the leaves faded into darker shades of color near their edges represented a slow death for those living things that do not die abruptly. The piece’s main focus was to show people that they are not immune to bad fortune and can fall victim to desperation and misery just as every other living