cai guo-giang's gunpowder piece depicting Qatari abayas
Entrance to the "Murakami-Ego" exhibit - no photography inside!
My man and I spent the weekend catching up on some of the latest art exhibits of Doha before they packed up and left town for good. We were particularly taken with Japanese artist Takashi Murakami's show "Murakami - Ego" at the Museum of Modern Art. Like most people, I was already familiar with Murakami's work through his famous collaboration with Marc Jacobs/Vuitton. I also distinctly remember thinking that was one of the ugliest lines Vuitton ever allowed manufactured...now I feel so ashamed I might just go watch like 14 hours of anime. I was humbled to discover an insightful, emotional, and fun exhibit inside those smiling daisy-covered walls. We were most taken by his multi-panel piece depicting the devastation caused by the Japanese earthquake. The whole piece must have been a hundred meters long, housing the image of 500 arhats. That, and the fact that he directed Kanye West's "Good Morning" Video. Judge if you must.
Later, we moved on to the cai guo-qiang exhibit "saraab" (mirage, in Arabic) at Mathaf. While I enjoyed the narrative of a fantastical trip between his hometown of Guangzhou and Doha, I kept feeling like the idea was sort of, well, a stretch. His unique perspective on Gulf culture was a delight though, especially his fixation on the Arabian horses. I think those horses take longer to "get ready" in the morning than Clueless's Cher. His artwork created by lighting stencils layered under gunpowder was cool, but much more cool after I watched a few clips of it being made here in town. See below:
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