Takashi Murakami

Recently The Brooklyn Museum hosted a big party for the opening of what will eventually become a touring showcase of the artwork of Takashi Murakami. A lot of people may not know the name, but would easily recognize the designs he provided for a series of seriously high-dollar Louis Vuitton handbags that apparently made a lot of noise among ..whatever kind of people get excited about designer handbags.

I love the guys work, and have ever since I saw one of his pieces displayed at MoMa when I made a summer visit to the city a while back.

Known in many circles as the "Japanese Andy Warhol" -- his artwork is filled with celebrity and consumer culture themes mixed with Anime and Manga images, which you can check out with the help of this little slide show provided by Slate magazine.

Certainly not the same as being there, but a good introduction to some very cool stuff.

Enjoy!