Takashi Murakami's Exhibit At The MCA Breaks All Attendance Records

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 20, 2017 7:25PM



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.

