Creator: Takashi Murakami
Title: The Castle of Tin Tin
Work Type: Paintings
Date: 1998
Location:exhibited at Brooklyn Museum of Art, Spring 2008
Material: acrylic on canvas mounted on board
Measurements: two panels, 118 1/8 x 118 1/8 overall
Image URL: https://library.artstor.org/#/asset/LARRY_QUALLS_10313735989
The Castle of Tin Tin features Murakami’s famous “DOB” character in a tall, spiraling mutation that stretches nearly 10 feet tall. DOB is characterized by his bright, round eyes, toothy grin, and round face. With many seemingly random areas of color such as the colorful balls and the jagged spiral on a plain background, Castle of Tin Tin demonstrates Murakami’s famous “Superflat” style and the unique manner in which it is viewed. Murakami describes superflat as, “An unbalanced image is drawn that develops a minimal balance as it spreads out towards each of the four corners the frame.” With this style, the viewer must use their sense of perspective to get a spatial understanding of the 2-dimensional image that seems as if it were trying desperately to enter into that 3rd dimension. Since the viewer must process the image in sections to get an understanding of that depth, this style has been said to control the velocity of the observer’s gaze as it travels over the surface in a zigzag pattern. This trick has been used by many “eccentric artists” dating all the way back to Japan’s Edo period which is where Murakami gets much of his inspiration.
Jason Houle – USCGA – jhoule4.98@gmail.com
