LOS ANGELES—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 on 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 Tokyo. Like Murakami's paintings and sculptures, her computer animation and sculptures blend traditional Japanese painting style with the contemporary aesthetics of Japanese comic books.

Murakami also curated an exhibition of contemporary Japanese art at the Japan Society in New York City.

The two exhibits are part of Murakami's effort to expose contemporary Japanese art abroad.

"There should be a lot of Japanese artists who can make it overseas," Murakami said. "I want to introduce them to a Western audience so they can be recognized for the good work they do."

By Daisy Nguyen, Associated Press Writer Copyright AP 2005