"Murakami Yawns At Mars"
World-renowned contemporary artist #TakashiMurakami @takashipom with his piece entitled "Physical Pie" photographed at Mars Gallery in Shibuya-Ku, Japan, Tokyo (1992) by Greek-Californian artist/photographer #IthakaDarinPappas @_Ithaka_ @photographer_ithaka.d.pappas
For licensing inquiries regarding these rare images of
Takashi Murakami by Ithaka Darin Pappas,
please contact ithaka.official@gmail.com
"Physical Pie" by Takashi Murakami (1992)
Takashi Murakami, Ithaka Darin Pappas, Takashi Murakami, Ithaka Darin Pappas,
Takashi Murakami, Ithaka Darin Pappas, Takashi Murakami, Ithaka Darin Pappas,
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However, photographing in the light of day, sometimes in the middle of public squares and parks filled with thousands of people, did not prove to be an easy task.
Japanese people were quite shy when asked to show their navels in public to a stranger, further complicated by the fact that the photographer was a Gaijin (foreigner). 
For this reason some sessions were held in the subjects’ homes or offices after first meeting them in public.
Regardless, because of the high rejection rate
(10-20 refusals for every one acceptance), sometimes it would take an entire day just to complete the belly-button portrait of only one or two subjects.
In addition to the Japanese majority of navels photographed, a percentage of outsiders were also included.
These individuals were from Brazil, China, Denmark, England, Germany, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United States.
Subject ages ranged from three to ninety-six.
In addition to the Japanese majority of navels, a percentage of outsiders were also included. People from Brasil, China, Denmark, England, Germany, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and the United States.
Says Ithaka,
“I didn’t photograph tourists for the project, but only actual residents of Tokyo.The foreigners who participated, mostly in their 20s-40s, were all living full-time in Tokyo and held a diverse spectrum of jobs from dishwasher to scientist.
Among the Japanese subjects - I photographed the navels of children as young as three (as well as those of their parents) and elderly people too, one in his late 90's.
The end result of UMBILICUS wasn’t only a study of human anatomy, but in actuality, concluded in becoming an anthropological observation of Tokyo’s population in 1992."
UMBILICUS was published for the first time in January 1993 in the Japanese edition of the world-renowned fine art photography quarterly called Déja-Vu (Issue #11), the same issue that photographic legends Inose Kou, Frederick Sommer and Nobuyoshi Araki appeared.
Other international magazine appearances of UMBILICUS soon followed.
In 1995, the rock group Flood (signed to the Portuguese label, União Lisboa) chose images from UMBILICUS to appear on the front and back cover of their debut album, Despertar.
