Jellyfish Eyes: Black 4 2006

Curator: Takashi Murakami's "Jellyfish Eyes: Black 4," a mixed-media work from 2006. What catches your eye? Editor: Well, immediately it's the eyes themselves. There are so many! Each with a kind of goofy expression. They seem to be floating in some inky abyss. Curator: Exactly. This work pulls at a larger question: Murakami is fascinated with how art institutions shape our understanding of contemporary art. Consider the piece's prominent use of pattern and vibrant colours against the dark ground. Where do you think he got his influences? Editor: There's this immediate cartoonishness that hits me. It could almost be straight out of an anime still or one of my nephew’s games. Curator: Precisely! Murakami draws inspiration from pop art and Japanese anime culture, challenging the distinction between "high" and "low" art that dominates the Western market. What does the idea of a sea of floating, cartoony eyeballs communicate? Editor: Honestly, a bit of anxiety! Like everyone is watching and judging at all times. It might have a little bit to do with the technology era where privacy is increasingly becoming a major issue, don’t you think? Curator: Very insightful. By using the motifs of abstraction and the theme of "organic" shape, and abstract it even more by arranging the eyeballs as an organic pattern on the canvas, the composition comments on our society's obsession with being seen and surveilled, whilst being an active agent of seeing at all times. It makes us examine our understanding of vision in contemporary life. Editor: The darkness gives it this weird melancholy feeling too. Like being alone, but surrounded by unseen viewers... quite poetic I find. Curator: That poetic edge seems very aligned with what I’d interpret from an art historian's POV, focusing on how the motifs make you reconsider our roles when approaching art and how institutional art may influence how artworks are received. Editor: It is kind of unsettling when I think about it that way... so thanks for sharing your POV. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll need a moment alone with my thoughts, away from prying eyes.