Last year in Tokyo, I interviewed Takashi Murakami on the day his exhibit, 500 Arhats, was to be revealed to the public. And when I say interviewed, I mean it in the sense that I threw out the list prepared questions and flowed into a present moment conversation between me, him, and his translator (she’s dope by the way.)
Takashi is a busy man after all. It was his first exhibit in Tokyo in over 10 years, and as we were walking around the Mori Art museum, he was being greeted left and right by executives and press.
I jumped into what felt like relevant questions to capture why he’s doing what he’s doing now. Keyword is now. No one needs to ask questions like “What is your inspiration?” because everyone can google that and his bio. After all, the internet can help largely with understanding someone’s past. Plus, I only had 15 minutes.
Being in front of someone who had a large impact on art and pop culture- you just want to really pay attention and connect to his energy.
I had to also take a personal moment to pause and remember the scene.
That there I was…, in Tokyo… in an empty hall… talking to Takashi Murakami…. about religion in art… and Kanye West.
Very cool moment and a highlight in my career so far.
THE NEXT 