Photo courtesy mayotic via the Brooklyn Museum Group on Flickr. All Rights Reserved.

As Tamara noted, one of the most interesting things about putting on exhibitions for living artists is that the artists themselves often have a hand in how their work is viewed, and this is not just limited to the pieces in the exhibition. In this case, planning for the Members Preview and Reception was much more than just firing off a letter to all our Members and ordering some food from our caterer. For the © MURAKAMI Members Preview and Reception held on April 4, Murakami’s studio Kaikai Kiki helped design the invitation (seen above) and were only satisfied when the artist himself approved it.

Going into the night, there were two big unknowns: the number of people that would show up, and whether the artist was going to make an appearance. When 2,300 Members came, we were thrilled. And when the Takashi Murakami himself walked into the lobby, it was icing on the cake. He graciously shook hands, took pictures, and signed invitations (as you can see below) for over an hour, and our Members couldn’t have been happier. Maybe we should do exhibitions of living artists more often!

If you didn’t make it to the Members opening, the show is now open to the public through July 13. Come and check it out! You never know when the artist could show up…

[note: photo removed due to agreement with artist]

Takashi Murakami (left) with Paul Schimmel, Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. Photo by Mami Kato. Flower Matango (b), 2001-2006 and Cosmos, 2003. Artworks ©Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
I am most excited about the nitty-gritty details which make for an interesting installation period at the Museum. This multi-faceted exhibition fuses art with design elements, and Murakami has designed custom carpets and wallpaper to serve as the backdrop for his lively pieces. The effect is quite marvelous! Lately I have been consumed by the carpeting, for which a delicate installation plan had to be developed. As always, our primary goal was to achieve a seamless, flawless look for the exhibition. But there were other concerns as well; namely, ensuring that a temporary install would not permanently damage our original granite flooring while simultaneously guaranteeing that the bonding method would withstand heavy traffic. I think we’re there; the carpet looks wonderful.

[note: photo removed due to agreement with artist]
Installers from Carpet Resources, Ltd., work with Ken Moser, Chief Conservator (right) to determine an appropriate installation plan for the carpet. Photo by Tamara Schechter. Artwork ©Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

As you can see from the first photo in this post, Murakami sees the gallery space itself as an extension of his artistic presentation, meant not to fade into the background but rather to contribute to the overall atmosphere created by his work. Through the use of carpet and wallpaper, Murakami turns the very walls and floors around his art into works of art themselves. We have had plenty of experience installing fine art wallpaper; many of you may remember this element in the presentation of Global Feminisms. In addition, artist Ghada Amer has also explored the use of wallpaper in her work; you can check that out in Ghada Amer: Love Has No End, currently on view in the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art.

Murakami’s mesmerizing patterns are meant to overwhelm the senses and stimulate a greater connection to his work, and our first-class wallpaper installer, Amir Hasan, worked diligently for two weeks to ensure that Murakami’s intricate patterns matched seamlessly.

[note: photo removed due to agreement with artist]

Amir Hasan, installer extraordinaire, hangs Murakami’s wallpaper. Photo by Shelley Bernstein. Jelly Fish Eyes, 2001. Artwork ©Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

This presentation will be stellar, and I hope these images have sufficiently whetted your appetite, but, be aware, when the show closes the images within my post will have to come down along with the exhibition. Many thanks to Takashi Murakami and KaiKai KiKi for allowing us to share these images with you during the run of the show! © MURAKAMI opens on April 5^th!

So, why am I starting this post with the IMA? Well, we just produced a short video for our exhibition © MURAKAMI and while video is not something we tend to do a lot of at the Brooklyn Museum, we are very proud of this one. “Mr. Pointy Comes to Brooklyn” was inspired by the IMA’s “LOVE MOVE“. Shot in timelapse style, our new video documents the load in and assembly of Takashi Murakami’s sculpture, Mr. Pointy, which is now on display in the Rubin Pavilion throughout the run of the exhibition. One of the things we really liked about “LOVE MOVE” was the way the IMA combined different types of footage to produce a video that could really hold your attention. We worked with the same format, combining still shots taken from the ground with timelapse shots from the roof, then shifting to a true timelapse of the sculpture being assembled.

To get some of the footage, we set up shop on the roof of one of buildings across the street from the Museum. Bob (left) and Francesca (right) almost froze up there! This part of the load in lasted all day and they shot more than 2000 images to go into the final timelapse. Those of us on the ground kept joking that they looked like snipers on the roof. Many thanks to Victor, the superintendent of the building across the street. Not only did he arrange to get us access, he provided electricity so we could power our equipment all day.

Bob hard at work and cold!

After the first day, we all got to move inside to warmer surroundings. At the same time we were shooting, Ruby Washington, a photographer from the New York Times, was here capturing shots for a piece just published in our hometown paper. Check out her great flicks in Carol Vogel’s article. We’ve also got a series of shots of our own up on Flickr if you are into the close-ups.

The view down Washington Avenue was pretty cool…note the pigeons decided to oversee the shoot!

You may notice there’s no music in the video. We really wanted to use a track from mobygratis, but we were just shy of time needed to get the approval for the track and our request is still “pending”, so it’s a bit of a silent movie right now. Once the exhibition completes its run we will have to take the video off YouTube and the flicks off Flickr, but we are thrilled we can share them with you for this limited time. Thanks to The Nugget Factory for the inspiration! Daniel, now we need advice about how to make transitions that will look good when YouTube does its compression. It looks so much better when we host it.

Packing up: The artwork from Infinite Island: Contemporary Caribbean Art is crated in preparation for shipping.

The show had a great run, and encouraged much enlightening discussion that will surely continue for years to come. It was a real privilege to be a part of that groundbreaking exhibition.

But, no time to dwell on nostalgia! One of the great things about working at the Brooklyn Museum is how quickly projects develop. We’re always working on something new, and this month is no exception. It’s time to make way for ©MURAKAMI!