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 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 of Tokyo.
Murakami also curated an exhibition of contemporary Japanese art at the Japan Society in New York as part of his effort to promote contemporary Japanese art abroad.
Just days after 16-year-old Ahmad Rashad‘s mother died of pancreatic cancer in Flint, Mich., he got an unexpected phone call from his namesake, the former NFL star.
The other Ahmad Rashad, now a television sports broadcaster, offered condolences and encouragement to the teen during their five-minute phone conversation in the high school’s athletic office Friday.
“He told me how sorry he was for my loss and also that his mom died of the same type of cancer,” the high school junior told The Flint Journal.
“He told me I was doing really well in track. He saw some articles about me,” the track standout said. “He told me to keep up the good work and also to keep my head up.”
The younger Rashad won the long jump and 200-meter dash at the Big Nine meet Wednesday, a day after his mother’s death.
Rhonda Miller, the school’s athletic secretary, said someone who read a newspaper article on the student told the sportscaster about the situation.
Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown has angered some of his neighbors by selling his multimillion-dollar home to a group that wants to make it into a homeless shelter.
The two-time California governor and three-time presidential candidate’s 7,000-square-foot warehouse home is in Jack London Square, where lofts sell for $700,000. Covenant House officials are preparing to convert it into a shelter for 30 young adults.
Fears about safety, damage to property values and future development were voiced at a hearing on the project this month. The zoning board will consider the proposal Wednesday.
Brown’s spokesman said the property had been on the market for about six months and sold for between $3 million and $4 million. He called the controversy a “back-fence spat with a disgruntled neighbor.”
Brown moved to the warehouse in 1995. He moved in with his longtime girlfriend two years ago, and they recently announced plans to marry.
