Artist Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami is Japan's answer to Andy Warhol and then some. He doesn't just borrow from pop culture; he churns it out himself. Much of his work features cartoonish characters inspired by the animated films and comic books of Japan's ubiquitous teen cultures. So if you like Hello Kitty! dolls, you'll love "© Murakami," a retrospective opening Oct. 29 at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles. Murakami, the originator of an art theory he calls "superflat," can make graphics that pack a superpunch. They can also be superinfantile. And, no surprise, superpopular. His line of handbags and accessories for Louis Vuitton has been a huge moneymaker. Reasoning that merchandising is central to the Murakami experience, MOCA will have a Louis Vuitton boutique, selling such "works" as a $925 Murakami bag, smack in the middle of the show.

— RICHARD LACAYO