Art and Takashi Murakami - One in the Same?

Somewhere at the intersection of art and fashion some people are beginning to ask themselves what makes fashion art especially considering the latest hoopla over a Takashi Murakami exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Contemporary.

Murakami is mostly known for his work with Louis Vuitton in helping design some of the brand's purses (such as the famous cherry print that inspired knock-offs seen around the world). However, the exhibit features actual art work - not just purses - as well. The Louis Vuitton boutique at the museum, however, is what has been getting the most press even before the opening gala for the exhibit occurred on Oct. 28.

The fact is, the whole event has been a dream for fashionistas in love with the Louis Vuitton label. Can much be said for the actual design of hippy inspired smiling flowers all over a bunch of overpriced bags, coin purses and organizers? Hardly. In fact, no one is really even talking about the art - they're all talking about what can be bought at the museum's boutique.

This is why it seemed only a matter of time that something would eventually end up on eBay - the treasure chest for the greedy that espouse everything possibly negative with the concept of business enterprise.

At the opening gala for the exhibit, guests who paid between $1,000 to $10,000 for their dinner tickets, were allowed to take home their place mats that evening - Murakami designed, of course. The place mats featured the same smattering of those smiling flowers that are on just about everything else sold in the Louis Vuitton boutique at the museum. The draw was of course that they were free. So much to the astonishment of anyone with any sense of right and wrong, some people began taking their place mats and the place mats of seats that were empty. Other people who got up and left their seats for a few minutes also fell victim to thieves that took advantage of the situation by taking those place mats as well.

To make things worse, many people were having the designer sign his place mats, which was the perfect situation for the whomever ended up putting one of those mats on eBay with an asking bid price of $999.99. The place mat is signed of course. Someone else has also put up the press kit for the event with a fact sheet and MOCA magazine on auction at eBay for $9.99. Whether either items will sell is another question.

The whole series of events begs another question though. If it weren't for branding and commercialism, would people be just as obsessed with Murakami's art and at what point does fashion become art? At what point does it become commercial?

The lines are very blurred. Look at Shepherd Fairey and his homespun campaign of smattering cities with Andre the Giant posters. He is an artist, but he built up a brand around that concept and got people emotionally involved with an image - whether they actually identify any sort of message that the artist was getting across is completely another matter. Some would say none of that really matters and that art is ultimately lost with the viewer and really only has meaning for the artist.

One thing is for certain though, when people began forking over hundreds of dollars for a piece of "art," the only message getting across is the success of advertising and branding - and not much past that.