Takashi Murakami's Exhibit At The MCA Breaks All Attendance Records
727 (1996), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![727 (1996), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
DOB in The Strange Forest (Blue DOB) (1999), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![DOB in The Strange Forest (Blue DOB) (1999), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Flowers, flowers, flowers (2010), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Flowers, flowers, flowers (2010), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Kanye Bear (2009), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Kanye Bear (2009), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Of Chinese Lions, Peonies, Skulls, and Fountains (2011), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Of Chinese Lions, Peonies, Skulls, and Fountains (2011), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Isle Of The Dead (2014), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Isle Of The Dead (2014), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Dragon in Clouds (2010), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Dragon in Clouds (2010), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
69 Arhats Beaneath the Bodhi Tree (2013), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![69 Arhats Beaneath the Bodhi Tree (2013), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Kansei Gold (2008), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Kansei Gold (2008), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Kōrin: Tranquility (2015), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Kōrin: Tranquility (2015), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Time Bokan (1993), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Time Bokan (1993), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
ZuZaZaZaZaZa (detail) (1994), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![ZuZaZaZaZaZa (detail) (1994), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Super Nova (detail) (1999), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![Super Nova (detail) (1999), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
And Then, And Then, And Then and Then, and Then (Red) (1996), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![And Then, And Then, And Then and Then, and Then (Red) (1996), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary
![Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary]()
Tan Tan Bo (2001), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary
![Tan Tan Bo (2001), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary]()
Chakras Open and I Drown Under The Waterfall of Life (2017), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary
![Chakras Open and I Drown Under The Waterfall of Life (2017), Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary]()
The artist interviewed. Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![The artist interviewed. Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
MCA Chief Curator Michael Darling and the artist, Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago
![MCA Chief Curator Michael Darling and the artist, Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg runs from June 6 - Sept. 24 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago]()
When we wrote about David Bowie Is breaking attendance records at the Museum Of Contemporary art Chicago in 2015, I asked, "Of course this causes a bit of a (welcome) conundrum for the Museum of Contemporary Art: how do they top this? The answer there is that they won't, at least not in the near future." Well, it looks like my assumption was certainly off.
The MCA just announced the current blockbuster exhibit Takashi Murakami: The Octopus Eats Its Own Leg broke the Bowie record and has logged 193,000 visitors, "making it the all-time highest attended exhibition in the MCA's 50-year history." And that number is sure to increase since you still have until Sept. 24 to catch Murakami's work at the MCA.
In my review of the opening of the Murakami show, I marveled at the size and detail of his work, saying:
...when you enter the exhibit space, you realize that nothing could have prepared you for the sheer size and scale of Muakami's work. Paintings take up entire walls. Sculptures reach into the ceiling. The level of detail in the pieces is amazing, at times causing you to worry you might get sucked into the pores of this character or that. It is impossible to take everything in on your first trip around the space; it takes a good half hour for your retinas to stop buzzing enough for you to truly concentrate on the work.
I loved David Bowie Is, but certainly can't bemoan the fact Murakami's amazing work might have actually appealed to a slightly larger crowd, especially since it is a collection of amazing—and at times challenging—pieces that keep you thinking long after exiting the exhibit halls. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend you help push that record attendance number slightly higher and take it in before it closes this weekend.
