To Ai Weiwei’s 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds, we hardly knew you… Just a few days after it opened, officials at London’s Tate Modern made the difficult to close the vast installation by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei. The work, simply titled “Sunflower Seeds“, encompassed 100 million sunflower seeds replica made from porcelain, is currently situated at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, where are encouraged to walk on the work of art as part of the experience. However, with such vast amount in an enclosed space, officials at Tate Modern begin to notice noxious ceramic dust, which forced the closure. Officials at Tate Modern also insisted that the closure was not due to political pressure from the Chinese government, who sees Ai Weiwei as an instigator and political dissident, but solely out of health concern for its visitors. No words on when the exhibition will open again.

All Photos By Paul Grover / Daily Telegraph

The immensity and scale is unfathomable unless you’re there in person. Titled “Sunflower Seeds”, the latest work from famed Chinese conceptual artist Ai Weiwei, it features more than 100 million replicas of, as the title described, sunflower seeds made from porcelain. As part of the Unilever Series at London’s Tate Modern, the exhibition carpets, at a depth of 4-inch, the largest space of museum, the Turbine Hall. The exhibit took around 1,600 skilled artisans from the city of Jingdezhen, an area known for its fine porcelain production in China, a total of 2 years to produced.  Weigh around 150-ton in total, each seed was molded, fired at the kiln, hand-painted, re-fired, and repeat, a process involved 20 to 30 steps.

Keith Haring’s Pop Shop, Jeff Koon’s earlier and pornographic Made In Heaven, Takashi Murakami’s Akihabara Majokko Princess all have one thing in common – that you can only see them at Pop Life: Art In A Material World exhibition. Organized originally by London’s Tate Modern and co-curated by Jack Bankowsky, Alison M. Gingeras, along with Catherine Wood, the exhibit re-examine the very core definition of the Pop Art movement. Where as it was suggested by Andy Warhol that Pop Art was the mere reflection, though exaggerated, of contemporary popular culture, Tate Modern and the team of curators found the opposite to be true. That the works themselves have infiltrated, often subversively, into our daily lives. For those who can’t make a trip out to London and see the exhibition in person, In Love With has created a video recap of the exhibition featuring works from Murakami, Haring, Warhol and more. The full list of artists whose work is on display include Ashley Bickerton, Maurizio Cattelan, Tracey Emin, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Andrea Fraser, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst, Martin Kippenberger, Jeff Koons, Sarah Lucas, Edouard Manet, Takashi Murakami, Peter Nagy, Richard Prince, Pruitt & Early, David Robbins, Reena Spaulings, Elaine Sturtevant, Gavin Turk, Piotr Uklanski, Meyer Vaisman and Andy Warhol. And for those fortunate enough to visit the exhibit, it is currently on display in Germany at Hamburger Kunsthalle through May 9th.

Hamburger Kunsthalle
Glockengießerwall 1 | Map
20095 Hamburg, Germany

Exhibition Date: Now – May 9th (Monday)

Under Takashi Murakami’s whimsically magical production and McG’s (McG is the man behind Terminator Salvation and Charlie’s Angels) direction, Hollywood Starlet Kirsten Dunst is transformed into a anime-inspired Aikihabara Majokko Princess in fluffy candy colored tutu, a bright yellow sailor top, baby blue gingham stockings pink shoes and bright blue hair. And let’s not forget the sparkling wand which accompanies Dunst on her prance through Tokyo’s quirky Akihabara district (home to the Otaku subculture where men have an insatiable fascination with the fantastical anime and manga world). As previously reported, Murakami’s Akihabara Majokko Princess video was available for viewing at Tate Modern’s Pop Life: Art In A Material World. The video is now finally available online, and we can all follow Dunst’s extraordinary journey through Akihabara as she sings a pop tune about turning Japanese. Get ready to be dazzled with a lot of colors, sparkles, dancing, and also look out for Murakami and NIGO (BAPE) in the video. Murakami’s flower plush ball (with Murakami in it!) also make a snuggly appearance in the video, so enjoy!

Classics will remain relevant because they are classics. However, a revival of the iconic does not always have to come in collaborations or revamps. Sometimes, a fresh perspective will do just the trick without putting risky changes to the beloved. California heritage sports label, K-Swiss does just that and quite literally, is bringing The Classic back into the spotlight with a fresh collaborative campaign.

In Room 17 of the Pop Life: Art In A Material World exhibition currently held at London’s Tate Modern, Takashi Murakami has set up shop with his exhibition titled Collaboration Addiction. Drawing inspiration from the Japanese popular culture especially that of anime and otaku lifestyle, the exhibition also aims to serve as a reflection of Murakami’s commercial collaborative work. In the midst of paintings and sculptures with some collaborative work done with pop cultural icons such as Pharrell Williams, Mc G and Kirsten Dunst, spotted is a large bear sculpture iconic of Kanye West. While this is a different colored version, the silhouette of the bear is the same as his previous exhibition at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin in Paris. If you can’t make it to check out the exhibitions in person before Jan 17, here’s a picture of the bear to quell your curiosity. Via:: Kanye West Blog

Pop Life: Art In A Material World called on some of contemporary art’s most prominent names such as Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami to partake in this collective exhibition that explores art that had successfully infiltrated the market place and became part of the system. Other than the previously mentioned collaborative sculptural piece between Pharrell Williams and Takashi Murakami, another interesting piece from the artist is a video named Akihabara Majokko Princess, featuring Kirsten Dunst and created in conjuction with McG (director of Terminator Salvation and Charlie’s Angels). While the only place you will be able to see the video would be at Tate Modern in London, here are some shots of the video with Dunst as a magic princess prancing through Akihabara in Tokyo, singing Vapor’s Turning Japanese. Cosplayers surround Dunst and the entourage at times included plush toys such as the huge flower ball produced by Murakami’s Kaikai Kiki production house. via: Arrested Motion

In the legendary Mr. Andy Warhol’s own words, ” Good business is the best art”. Whether you beg to differ or nod with feverish agreement, the legacy of pop art has created many artists who became icons and their art evolved into brands in their own right. Just a quick recap– Keith Haring, Martin Kippenberg, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and our infamous artist with a great affair with formaldehyde, Damien Hirst, are just some names that come to mind and will be showcased at Tate Modern’s upcoming exhibition, Pop Life: Art In A Material World. Showcased are works of art that are not just commentators or critics of mass media and culture, but had successfully infiltrated into the system and became a part of the market place deliberately.

Other than the aforementioned, some interesting exhibits to look out for include a collaborative sculptural piece between music’s ingenious Pharrell Williams and Takashi Murakami, dubbed The Simple Things; and for those who would love to be on the front line of art, there is a chance to apply to become a part of Damien Hirst’s new work as long as you come in a pair — a pair of identical twins.

Check out the video from Damien Hirst himself seeking identical twins! Even if you can’t participate, the exhibition is one with great names and interesting work worth visiting while it’s on from Oct 1 to Jan 17, 2010.