727-727

In 2007 Takashi Murakami’s 727 was sold for over 80 million yen, rendering him the most expensive contemporary artist in Japan. In 727 series we see a variegated, pointed-teethed Dob riding on a richly ornamented wave, inexplicably cute and somewhat grotesque.

The title 727 derives from a shampoo brand “727COSMETICS” the artist saw while traveling on Shinkansen. Initially he thought the name had something to do with Boeing 727 but later found out that it was actually the brand founder’s wife’s birthday. Takashi Murakami later named the artwork with his “misunderstanding” and actually adapted various techniques and created several versions catering to collectors’ requirements. The artwork bears a resemblance of a three fold screen and shows a strong similarity of Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock.

Dob君是村上隆以當代達到偶像地位的動漫人物為發想所創造的角色，Dob君的名字取自日文中的厘語"dobojite"，意思為”為什麼?”，而這疑問也彷彿永恆地掛在Dob的臉上，讓大家不論如何都能認出他。在727系列作品帶有日本傳統繪畫的風格；整幅畫以三片式日式屏風的形象呈現，而Dob君更乘著巨浪，令人想到日本浮世繪畫師葛飾北齋《神奈川沖浪裏》畫作，背景特意採用斑駁處理以重現日本畫的效果。

村上隆眾多的畫作、雕塑、裝置藝術、多媒體藝術以及商品讓不少人將他的名字與安迪沃荷相連接，村上隆的作品融合了大眾流行文化以及傳統，同時呈現出日本文化的過去、現在以及未來。

Mr. DOB, the whimsical, sharp-toothed character riding the wave at center, is Murakami's first signature creation inspired by the anime (animated film) and manga (comic book) characters that have achieved cult status in Japanese youth culture. His name is a contraction of the Japanese slang __EXPRESSION__ "dobojite," or "why?" and it is literally spelled out in his facial features and appendages, ensuring we recognize him in spite of his ever-changing appearance. Here Mr. DOB is borne on a tide of traditional Japanese forms. The wave, spanning the length of three panels that evoke a painted folding screen, is strongly suggestive of the well-known woodblock prints of the Japanese artist Hokusai (1760–1849). About twenty layers of paint, resembling lacquer, were builtup then scraped away to create a variegated abstract background in Nihonga style, a fusion of Japanese and Western artistic approaches that developed in the late nineteenth century. Of 727 Murakami has said, "The work is not particularly representative of anything. It is simply a combination of all the available techniques that I had at the time."

With studios and teams of assistants in Tokyo and New York producing his paintings, sculptures, environmental installations, prints, multiples, drawings, media works, and popular merchandise, Murakami has drawn comparisons with Andy Warhol. His expert melding of the popular with the time-honored has resulted in this humorous and celebratory representation of the past, present, and future of Japanese art.