The Murakami Method
The Japanese Andy Warhol of the 21st century ...
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The Murakami Method
By ARTHUR LUBOW
At the Mori Arts Center, which is perched atop a skyscraper in the glittering Roppongi Hills development in Tokyo, I recently visited a museum show, ''Universal Symbol of the Brand,'' that displayed (to quote its catalog) ''the fascinating development of the history and endeavors of Louis Vuitton, the brand that is not only incredibly popular in Japan but also beloved throughout the world.'' A sequence of galleries exhibiting luggage and handbags proceeded to a large advertising photograph of the actress Uma Thurman and smaller shots of runway models, all wearing Vuitton fashions. What drew me to the show, however, were two bags in the variation of the Vuitton pattern that the Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami developed with the company in 2003. The brightly colored Murakami line has been phenomenally successful, with sales reported to be in the vicinity of $300 million. Murakami's handbags were presented along with two small paneled screens painted in the same patterns that appear on the bags ...
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