According to the Los Angeles Times, Clint Arthur has added fraud accusation to his Louis Vuitton lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed after Arthur read that his $12,000 Takashi Murakami multiples that he purchased from the "Copyright Murakami" exhibition at MOCA's Geffen Contemporary building were created from "repurposed" materials used to make Louis Vuitton purses.
Mr. Arthur's Louis Vuitton aded fraud claim after he read the 2007 Paul Schimmel Artinfo.com interview which stated theprints were created from the same materials as the Louis Vuitton handbags.
The lawsuit vs. Louis Vuitton contends "$4 million worth of limited-edition prints by artist Takashi Murakami" were repurposed from "handbag material as 500 collectible art prints priced at $6,000 and $10,000 crossed the line from commerce to fraud because Louis Vuitton allegedly hid the fact that the prints were made from the same fabric sheets as the Murakami-designed bags and accessories selling nearby for almost $1,000."
Mr. Arthur's fraud claim seems baseless since Murakami's art, even repurposed, would still be documented as a limited edition Multiple; Arthur's "purse material" claim moot since the Murakamis were sold in Editions of 500, each signed and numbered by the artist.
In a 2007 Artinfo interview Mr. Schimmel states: "He took the materials that he had printed for various [Vuitton] products—the white one, the cherry one, five different sorts of patterns—and he had them stretched like paintings and made into a very large but numbered edition. He’s sort of selling this rather high-end multiple up in the Louis Vuitton boutique."
The 2007 Paul Schimmel Artinfo.com interview seems to support our view that Louis Vuitton actually did nothing wrong when selling these overpriced Murakami Multiples and Clint Arthur's "fraud" claim is actually buyer remorse for buying with his ears and not his eyes.
Buying quality Fine Art does pay-off, and art collectors, like Mr. Arthur, would benefit from seeking the advice from knowledgeable, professional art dealers, and don't always concern themselves with buying the latest "flavor of the month".
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