Takashi Murakami has released its first NFTs (but the sale is already suspended)
108 Nintendo-inspired variations of Takashi Murakami’s iconic flowers have become NFTs
Bids already exceed $200,000.
Following Damien Hirst with his upcoming NFT 10,000 drop on the sustainable Palm platform, Takashi Murakami is the other blue-chip artist to jump into the world of Crypto Art.
Murakami announced his entry into the NFT market with a post on Instagram in which he wrote, “I’m groping in the dark, so I’m sure I’ll make a lot of mistakes, but please bear with me.”
The world’s most famous Japanese artist, who creates his works by mixing anime and manga with the pop of Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons, has launched his new NFT collection, which is called “Murakami.Flowers”.
The collection was featured on Opensea and consists of a series of 24 x 24 pixel NFT artworks depicting smiley face flowers: each flower features a different facial expression, just like emoji.
For his foray into the world of NFT, Murakami has partnered with Yoshihisa Hashimoto, the former director of Sonic Unleashed and Hedgehog Engine, as well as an influential figure in the world of online games and a representative of ZIKU Technologies, Inc. a company that creates XR, AI and avatars.
Together with Hashimoto, they transformed the artist’s iconic flowers that evoke nostalgia for Famicom (the Nintendo Entertainment System) into NFT.
The first “Murakami.Flowers” NFT, titled # 0000 Murakami.Flower , has already attracted a bid of 144 ether, or about $260,395, but anything can still happen.
In fact, just yesterday Murakami announced with a post on Instagram that he had decided to temporarily suspend the sale of NFTs because he was busy conducting further research on how best to sell them safely.
“I sincerely apologize to those who have already submitted their bids, but I hope you will understand the rationale behind this retreat, the purpose of which is to allow you to later enjoy my NFT work more affordably and with peace of mind.”
What convinced Murakami to enter the NFT world?
Certainly the recent record sale of Beeple has piqued the interest of the Japanese artist who understood the importance of the historical moment to develop his art in the digital space.
Another source of inspiration was watching the way his children played Nintendo’s video game “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” with their friends during the pandemic.
“They were watching some fireworks within the game while talking to their classmates, who they could no longer meet in person, admiring how beautiful and interesting it was as a new communication process.”
NFT represents a great opportunity to relaunch Murakami who, just last summer, announced that Kaikai Kiki, the factory created to manage his brand, from the production of artwork to merchandising items, was on the verge of bankruptcy.
All that remains now is to wait for when Murakami will reopen the NFT sale and how he decides to implement it.
And you, are you ready to discover Takashi Murakami’s NFTs?
Photo Credits: Takashi Murakami
