does takashi murakami know about the connection between takashi murakami and payless?

Payless Shoe Source advertising poster, detail 1


Artist, Takashi Murakami 'posterizing' his signature eyeball in Superflat,
a show in 2001 that Murakami curated and exhibited


Payless, Evolution of a Logo, (my title, not theirs), detail 2


Takashi Murakami, Jellyfish Eyes - Black 4, Offset Lithograph, edition of 300
[image from Blind Angle]

I don't know about you, but I see a clear similarity between Takashi Murakami's Jellyfish Eyes - Black 4 and the current advertising poster for Payless Shoe Source, Evolution of the Payless Logo (my title, not theirs).

After all, why wouldn't Payless want to plant the Louis Vuitton/Takashi Murakami seed in their customer's minds? "Luxe for less" (copies) is their concept, isn't it? When you look at images of Murakami's and Payless' side by side, the reference seems overt.

The Payless Logo Poster in a traditional Japanese two-panel screen format,
on display in the window on 39th Street (corner of Fifth Avenue)


Murakami's signature eyeballs mixed with Louis Vuitton icons and logo
in a print the artist made for the luxury handbag maker.