superflat

Other names: スーパーフラット

A postmodern art movement, founded by the artist Murakami Takashi, which is influenced by manga and anime. Focuses on mixing highbrow and lowbrow forms of art. Subject matter sometimes verges into the surreal and disturbing.

Often features thick lineart, either maximalist abstract imagery or minimalist imagery, vector shapes similat to those found in Frutiger Metro, and vibrant flat colors. The other common side of Superflat, seen with artists like si-ku, invokes eerie, dream-like settings with vague, deformed anime-style characters, muted colors, and a painterly approach. It isn't unusual to see the two mix.

The commercial appropriation of the movement as popularized by fashion brands and companies such as Tokidoki (company) is sometimes referred to as "Superflat Pop" - this tag does not distinguish between the two.