Provenance: Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris and Miami. Acquired here by the present owner in June, 2007.

The multifaceted, world famous Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami, works with multiple medias from paintings and sculptures to merchandise, cartoons and photography. In the photograph here presented one of his most famous characters, Miss Ko2, is made into a living being – yet still in a two dimensional and flat photograph congruent with the artist’s “Superflat” theory. This theory refers to the flattened aesthetic of the Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints and contemporary cartoon culture as well as a distinctly Japanese approach to culture that does not rank art in highs or lows.

The figure Miss Ko2 is inspired by the traditional Japanese art forms anime and manga and the eroticized Japanese cartoon figures called “bisoyoujo” – Japanese slang for beautiful girl. The “Superflat” artworks of Murakami - like the Miss Ko2-figure - question the distinctions between East and West, high art and popular culture, past and present. And not least, it highlights the flattening process of Japanese culture in the aftermath of the WWII horrors were many artist found shelter in fantasy and the childlike animated forms that conveniently replaced focus from questions of guilt and the atrocities of war.