Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has captured the world’s attention, with anti-war sentiment spreading to the art world. In solidarity with Ukraine, Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami has uploaded onto Instagram a “light-blue-over-yellow” Ukrainian flag artwork with his signature motif of smiling sunflowers, accompanied with the hashtag: #Peace. Simple yet powerful, the artwork is meant to convey his concern for the ongoing war.
Despite running a fever after getting the COVID-19 vaccine, Murakami created a sunflower-themed artwork centering on peace. Touched by his work, fans have left messages of support from around the world. The smiley rainbow-colored sunflower is Murakami’s signature motif, which the artist has previously stated represents love, hope, peace, poetic rhythm, and the wonders of the world. His latest work is to deliver a message urging for peace.
In addition to famous Japanese artists, artists worldwide have also shown their support with actions, such as putting up anti-war paintings in the world-renowned art festival Documenta or including the Ukrainian flag in street graffiti in Paris. A number of European artistic institutions, such as the Berlin International Film Festival, have lent their support to Ukraine and expressed their hope for a speedy conclusion to the war.
Photo: screen grab from Takashi Murakami’s Instagram page 照片︰村上隆IG
(Translated by Rita Wang, Taipei Times)
俄羅斯向烏克蘭發動戰爭成為國際焦點，反戰風潮延燒至藝術圈。日本當代藝術家村上隆透過IG發文，曬出一張以招牌太陽花作為創作主題的作品，搭配象徵烏克蘭國旗的「上黃下藍」色調，並標記「#Peace」和平一字，簡潔有力地表達出對戰事的關注。
村上隆近日因接種疫苗身體不適發高燒，仍不忘創作以招牌太陽花為主題的「和平」畫作，讓粉絲們感到暖心，來自世界各地的網友也紛紛留言應援。實際上，擁有笑臉的七彩太陽花為村上隆的標誌圖案，他先前受訪時就指出「微笑小花」代表愛、希望、和平、詩歌的脈動與世界的奇妙，新作品更是再次宣揚和平。
除了日本知名藝術家們，各國的藝術家也挺身而出，像是世界著名藝術展覽「卡塞爾文獻展」的場館就高掛著反戰繪畫的作品，巴黎街頭塗鴉彩繪也融入烏克蘭國旗，而柏林影展等歐洲各個團體機構也紛紛為烏克蘭發聲，期盼戰爭早日結束。
(自由時報)
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