Winner of 2017 social media competition held by Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, celebrating the opening of their gallery exhibition of Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, this project keeps growing over the years. 

Ikebana (生け花, 活け花, “arranging flowers” or “making flowers alive”) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement and is counted as one of the three classical Japanese arts of refinement.

Ikebana reached its first zenith in the 16th century under the influence of Buddhist tea masters and has grown over the centuries, with numerous distinct schools extant today. 

Ikebana itself is not unlike sculpture and artists have been drawing, painting, and photographing ikebana still life scenes for ages.

Takashi Murakami is a contemporary multimedia artist, creating a contemporary Japanese art. He coined the term “superflat,” which describes both the aesthetic characteristics of the Japanese artistic tradition and the nature of post-war Japanese culture and society.

One of his most recognizable motifs are colorfully animated flowers, touching on themes of joy and terror.

My ongoing still life series, Ikebana Murakami, brings Takashi’s flowers back into the classically Japanese artform of Ikebana, making his superflat flowers "alive" again, and placing his contemporary imagery firmly within the Japanese tradition.