Takashi Murakami might now be considered a household name in terms of contemporary artists. His latest endeavor includes a limited-edition collab with LA-based FaZe Clan.
The eSports organization is joining Murakami to present a collection that combines the expression of jerseys and technological accessories with the artist’s familiar flower and skull print. Each item is offered in red and blue colorways.
The jerseys feature FaZe Clan’s logo on the upper right with more branding on the back above the number “10.” To accompany the jerseys, the collection interestingly includes mouse pads as well. They come in long rectangle or standard square shapes. The same all over print takes on the pads for a colorful result.
FaZe Clan’s community of gamers and Murakami’s fanbase of art lovers can combine their efforts to appreciate the new collection. Murakami may be trying to reach a new generation of admirers, a tactic once attempted by Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat.
“For Warhol, who was past 50, to collaborate with Basquiat, the young superstar, seemed to me as though the former was sucking up to the youth, and I looked on feeling a bit sorry for him,” said Murakami in a statement. “A little over a decade later, the once-incongruous collaborative paintings, which had seemed to feature the generational divide as the sales point, started to look very fresh, like an embodiment of the situation of their time.”
“I must now be older than Warhol then, and I suspect the members of FaZe Clan are younger than Basquiat was,” he also said. “Some people may think our pairing rather incongruous, but in 30 years’ time, the meaning of this collaboration within art historical context will perhaps be reviewed and reassessed. And so, while I felt a bit shy about doing a collaboration with such young people, I went along with their request, trusting in the freshness of the landscape the future audience will see in this project.”
Pieces in the capsule range from $50 USD to $100 USD. Fans can find the Takashi Murakami x FaZe Clan collection on the NTWRK app on Monday, June 28th at 12pm PT.
