Artist Uneasy About Vuitton Knockoffs

[AlexN]

I hope it's okay to post this is this forum since it deals with art and design. Could probably fit here or in Handbags...

Artist Uneasy About Vuitton Knockoffs
By DAISY NGUYEN, Associated Press Writer Sun May 29



LOS ANGELES - They say imitation is a form of flattery, but the artist who's been called Japan's "Andy Warhol" isn't convinced.

Pop artist Takashi Murakami — who designed the pastel-hued flowers that appear on Louis Vuitton handbags — said the thousands of knockoffs sporting his design leave him uneasy.
"Sometimes I'm happy about it, sometimes I'm not happy about it," Murakami said through a Japanese interpreter on Saturday during a visit to a Los Angeles art gallery.

"I don't always take it as a compliment," said Murakami, 43.

Murakami was in Los Angeles to promote the works of Chiho Aoshima, a 30-year-old artist who works at his Kaikai Kiki production studio outside Tokyo. Like Murakami's paintings and sculptures, her computer animation and sculptures blend traditional Japanese painting style with the contemporary aesthetics of Japanese comic books.

Murakami also curated an exhibition of contemporary Japanese art at the Japan Society in New York City.

The two exhibits are part of Murakami's effort to expose contemporary Japanese art abroad.

"There should be a lot of Japanese artists who can make it overseas," Murakami said. "I want to introduce them to a Western audience so they can be recognized for the good work they do."

 

[MulletProof]

he should've think twice when collaborating for LV. i quite like his work but now everyone associates him with the brand.

 

[Spike413]

LV is probably one of the most copied brands in the world, and his collaboration with them only heightened that....it's definitly something he needed to take into consideration before signing on with LV.

 

[Diorling]

It seems like Murakami said this to get some attention, the second half is about projects he's doing and the such. If Murakami is getting so riled up over this why did he do the Monogram Cerises? He can't be this clueless...

 

[Lena]

i know everyone swears by Murakami, personally i find him quite talentless to be honest (and i know i shouldnt be saying that)

thanks for the article Alex

 

[brian]

i wonder if he can really tell the difference between the knockoff bags and the real deal...

 

[ketiak]

Well, isn't the very basis of pop art that Murakami practices a commentary on commercial imitation, that all these knock-offs are proof of his philosophy?

So, in the article he is either:

a) hypocritical
b) subversive

 

[Lena]

Well, isn't the very basis of pop art that Murakami practices a commentary on commercial imitation, that all these knock-offs are proof of his philosophy?

So, in the article he is either:

a) hypocritical
b) subversive

right on ketiak, welcome to tFS

 

[wyatt.]

i agree lena. and i am most definitely an artist uneasy about knockoffs. [i know this isn't the idea of the topic but it's the truth]

knock offs to me are just an easy way out of being creative and original and realistic

 

[ketiak]

right on ketiak, welcome to tFS

Thanks for the hospitality!

 

[oceanharlot]

murakami is quite smart... he's like warhol in his treatment of the press. dont take everything he says to mean anything at all, but sometimes he speaks in such riddles its ridiculous... in this case I think if he's worried about the knockoffs its because people are profiting off his idea. but it definetly fits in with his philosophy, which makes sense with his given comment.

 

[birdofparadise]

I find the way the article was written to be more troubling than how he possibly feels about knockoffs. He's made his cash from LV already, I'm sure he couldn't care less at this point.

 

[Spacemiu]

I used to like Murakmi alot, true he is not really that amazing, but cute and fun. But all the hype he got from the LV collab. really anoyed me. I think though that the other Superflat artists, like Chiho Aoshima, are very talented.

 

[oceanharlot]

i think murakami is very talented. you should consider reading his thesis, "the meaning of meaningless meaning" (not to be confused with "the meaning of the nonsense of meaning", which is just a cataloge of his work with a few essays)...

i think he definetly knows how to use the media and the inevitable commercialization of his work as much as it wants to use him.