Chapter 6- The Studio Visit

• Pg.187 "I like to think that I have a more honest relationship with our artists than some other dealers, but I don't want to be anyone's shrink."
• Pg. 188 "Murakami is a stickler for documenting every layer of a painting, so he can follow the process even when he is out of town and look back on the layers to reproduce similar effects in future work." - I thought this was an interesting idea and maybe I would like to start doing because maybe it would help with remember colors or things i did to get a certain effect.
  
• Pg.191 " Murakami is unusual among artists in acknowledging the collective labor inscribed in his work." - I thought it was interesting that all artists do not give credit to the people that help create it. Also, it was interesting that, a little further in the paragraph, Murakami helps get his assistants careers going, but what i found interesting is that this was also a unique thing.
• Pg. 193 "... T-shirts, posters, post cards, pillows, plastic figurines, stickers, stuffed monsters, mugs, mouse pads, key chains, catalogues, cell-phone covers, badges, tote bags, handkerchiefs, decorative tins, notepads, and pencils." - This automatically made me think of Hello Kitty and Ed Hardy and how they have every single kind of merchandise out there. However, its also impressive that Murakami is that commercialized.
• Pg. 197 " Murakami's work starts out as a paintbrush drawing on paper, which his assistants then scan into the computer using the live-trace tool of Adobe Illustrator CS2, then they fine-tune the curves and zigzags with different techniques." - the process seems never-ending but it shows a well developed process and explains why so many different studios are necessary, I guess.
• Pg. 198 "An artist is someone who understands the border between this world and that one. ... I change my direction or continue in the same direction by seeing people's reaction. ... But I work by trail and error to be popular."
  
• Pg. 199 Third Paragraph. This is an interesting comparison between Murakami and Andy Warhol. The way that Murakami looked at Warhol's work and refused to do it Warhol's way. But later, Murakami took on silk screening to expand his knowledge of processes and used Warhol's use of silk screening by means of mass reproduction . However, Murakami made the process his own and very different than his influence, Andy Warhol.
• Pg.199 " A studio is supposed to be a site of intense contemplation."
• Pg.200-01 Murakami's bedroom seems to resemble what most of our studios are. The smaller details and nic-nacks give hints to who we are and where our inspriation could potentially coming from. In Murakami's bedroom there is a Hello Kitty, figurines from paintings and a collection of animation. These small things provide an insight of what his personal interests are and makes connections to some aspects of his work.
  
• Pg. 206 " it's a privilege to see incomplete work."
• Pg. 209 "When I go into a studio, I look at absolutely everything." "Supplemental information is incredibly important. If there is a truth there, it's not just in the work but in how they work, how they act , who they are..."
• At first I couldn't really understand why this artist Murakami would have so many studios. Then once I read about his process in creating work, how many people work for him in creating these pieces, his international status and commercialization, it seems completely appropriate for him to have all this space.