Blum & Poe presents the Los Angeles screening of Takashi Murakami's first live-action feature film Jellyfish Eyes (2013) at The Theatre at Ace Hotel. The film combines Murakami's trademark anime-inspired visual aesthetic with broader themes of social change and self-empowerment. Blending computer-animated graphics and live-action cinematography, Jellyfish Eyes recalls Japanese monster films of the 1950s. This coming-of-age tale embodies the promise of generational hope in a post-Fukushima world.

Jellyfish Eyes tells the story of Masashi, a young boy who moves to a sleepy town in the Japanese countryside with his mother in the wake of a natural disaster. After returning home from his new elementary school one day, Masashi discovers a flying jellyfish-like creature, who he befriends and names Kurage-bo. Masashi soon discovers that all his classmates have similarly magical pets, known as F.R.I.E.N.D.s, which are controlled by electronic devices that the children use to battle one another. Despite their playful appearances, these F.R.I.E.N.D.s turn out to be part of a sinister plot that will threaten the entire town.

On the evening prior to the screening, The Broad museum is presenting a live conversation between Murakami and Pico Iyer, a celebrated author of bestselling books in fiction and nonfiction, who has written extensively about Japan and its culture since moving to the country over 25 years ago. Held on Thursday, May 29 at 8:00 pm at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles, this conversation will focus on the complex historical and social narratives woven into Murakami's art practice and the ways in which they reflect contemporary Japanese culture.

Born in Tokyo in 1962, Takashi Murakami is one of the most influential and acclaimed artists to have emerged from Asia in the late twentieth century. His work has been exhibited extensively in venues around the world, including the Qatar Museum Authority; Palace of Versailles; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Brooklyn Museum; Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt; Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao; Fondation Cartier pour lʼart Contemporain, Paris; Serpentine Gallery, London; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; and Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

-Blum & Poe

Image: © 2014 Takashi Murakami/Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved.