Kaikai and Kiki; Lots of Fun 2009

Takashi Murakami made this work called, "Kaikai and Kiki; Lots of Fun," and it’s a wild ride of color and form, almost like stepping into a hyper-real cartoon. The surface is so smooth and slick, you can hardly see a trace of the artist's hand, which is kind of cool. The colors are intense, those acid brights and sugary pastels that pop like candy. It's mesmerizing and a little overwhelming, like being caught in a tsunami of cuteness. I keep coming back to the background – this sea of smiling flowers. Each one is slightly different, but they all share this wide-eyed, happy expression. There's something unsettling about it, like forced happiness. It reminds me of Warhol, maybe a little Lichtenstein, too, in the way it takes something simple and repeats it until it becomes something else entirely. Ultimately, this piece isn't about easy answers, it is a complex blend of joy and unease.