Murakami Asks People to Tweet Art in Support of Japan

Some of the images that have already been tweeted with #newday_GEISAI in response to Murakami’s call to action. (image sources below)

On Sunday, artist Takashi Murakami issued a statement in the wake of the devastating Sendai earthquake in Japan and the resulting cancellation  of the Geisai#15, a self-represented artist art fair initiated by the world-renowned Superflat artist.

In his message, Murakami referred to the role of art in such tragedies:

However, there is another thought which emerges within me. That is the idea that perhaps the power of art may be able to provide some ray of hope for our society in these dark and trying circumstances.

With the theme of providing encouragement to the victims and those who have despaired in the quake’s aftermath, will you join me in uploading
artwork to Twitter’s affiliated image posting sites?

He goes on to request that people to show their support by tweeting messages of original art with the hashtag, #newday_GEISAI.

The statement says their goal was to reach 100 images but by late Sunday night (EST), the call to artistic action had already exceeded that number.

Hat tip @yayoi_shionoiri, image sources: 1, 2, 3, and homepage images: 1, 2, 3, 4