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Screening: Takashi Murakami- Jellyfish Eyes

Sun, May 4, 2014 at 12pm

at Henry Art Gallery
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Takashi Murakamiʼs first live-action feature film Jellyfish Eyes (2013) combines computer-animated graphics and live-action cinematography. Jellyfish Eyes is a coming-of-age tale set in a post-Fukushima world, recalling Japanese monster films of the 1950s while embodying the promise of generational hope.

Takashi Murakamiʼs first live-action feature film Jellyfish Eyes (2013) will embark on a nine-stop screening tour of art institutions and cultural venues across the United States. The film combines Murakamiʼs trademark anime-inspired visual aesthetic with broader themes of social change and self-empowerment. Blending computer-animated graphics and live-action cinematography, Jellyfish Eyes is a coming-of-age tale set in a post-Fukushima world, recalling Japanese monster films of the 1950s while embodying the promise of generational hope.

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 whom 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, however, these F.R.I.E.N.D.s turn out to be part of a sinister plot that will threaten the entire town.

The film premiered at the Los Angeles County Museum of Artʼs Bing Theater in April 2013 and was released in theaters throughout Japan immediately thereafter. For this yearʼs U.S. tour, Jellyfish Eyes will be screened for audiences at the following venues: Asia Society Texas (Houston, TX); Dallas Museum of Art (Dallas, TX); Henry Art Gallery (Seattle, WA); Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, MA); Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, DC); Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (Chicago, IL); United Artists Theater (Los Angeles, CA); Asian Art Museum (San Francisco, CA); and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (New York, NY).

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 l’art Contemporain, Paris; Serpentine Gallery, London; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo; and Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston.

Jellyfish Eyes has a running time of 100 minutes and is presented in Japanese with English subtitles.


Henry Art Gallery

15th Ave NE and NE 41st
Seattle, WA 98195