Yayoi Kusama
[ 29 September 2009 ]
I was almost perfectly camoflauged!
“By obliterating one’s individual self, one returns to the infinite universe.”
Yesterday I went with my friend Mer to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibition at Wellington’s City Gallery. It was so excellent, & the second show of hers I’ve seen. I adore her, & as I walked around, I realised that I haven’t really written much about her here!
The first time I heard her name was in a song called Hot Topic by Le Tigre, a popular Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill fame) musical project. I didn’t think about her again until I was living in Melbourne, & one of her shows came to town. I walked down to see it & was blown away — the landscape had been transformed by these strange red shapes covered in polka dots. I took photos of myself next to them, & the love affair officially began.
Yayoi Kusama (草間彌生) was born in Japan in March 1929. She suffered extreme physical abuse at the hands of her mother as a child, & began hallucinating at a young age. Polka dots feature heavily in her work, & she says they are taken directly from her visions & hallucinations. She discovered that by drawing or painting what she saw, she was able to maintain some control over her mind. She voluntarily committed herself to an institution in the mid-1970s, & lives there to this day. Her studio isn’t far from the hospital, & she has attributed art with saving her life.
In 2008, one of her pieces was sold for over $5,000,000, the most expensive work ever to be sold by a living female artist.
While some people dismiss her art as “too abstract”, all that Yayoi is trying to communicate is the long process of creation itself, & she is adamant that she makes art only for herself. Her audience appears to be of little or no concern to her.
“I am an obsessional artist. People call me otherwise, but I simply let them do as they please. I consider myself a heretic of the art world. I think only of myself when I make an artwork. Affected by the obsession that has been lodged in my body.”
Her exhibitions are a mixed bag, ranging from illustrations to infinity rooms (mirrored rooms filled with hanging coloured lights or even sewn, polka dot shapes) & large collections of reflective balls. You might walk into a room covered in polka dots with enormous vinyl installations, or into a black-lit living room scene, popping with neon colours. Her art is really incredible, it invites you in while simultaneously confusing you, & encourages you to view things in a different way.
She loves to wear different coloured wigs, oversized polka dot caftans & bright lipstick. She is extremely prolific, & was a direct influence on both Yoko Ono & Andy Warhol.
How to bring a little more 草間彌生 into your life:
Draw polka dots on everything
Use bright colours, shamelessly & with abandon
Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself
Be self-obsessed
Use art as therapy
Watch Yayoi Kusama: I Love Me
Start a collection of wigs
Fill your house with mirrors
Recognise that it doesn’t matter where you came from
Construct a necklace of flowers
Make “LOVE FOREVER” your mantra
Live your art
RADICAL self-love & stardust,
Tags: aesthetic,
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life Follow me on Twitter! Listen to my latest podcast! Love & Sequins 10: International Playgirls Unlimited!
“Love Forever” is an excellent mantra.
I’ve been wanting to start collecting wigs since I was a little girl!
I don’t know if you have noticed this, but:
www.visionaireworld.com/issues…
She has a pop-up in the new Visionaire!
Points, points, points.. they’re everywhere!
Definitely an interesting article. But the look that lady in the red suit is giving me is kind of freaking me out lol…
Poppy — Haha. She is giving that look in almost all her photos! I love her!
Oh wow, she’s fabulous! ♥♥♥
Awesome article Gala! I love how Kusama calls her polka dot creations “infinity nets”
I really enjoyed your rundown on this artist! I love the vibrancy and the dots (I remember seeing that photo of you with the Melbourne exhibit and thinking “OH MY GOD MARIO MUSHROOM LAND AHOY!!!”) and the idea of creating art in self-interest. I think too many artists are afraid to exhibit, because the idea of networking or catering to someone else while creating is frightening.
It’s amazing what people can do through art, as therapy. Be it painting, writing, photography or artful dressing, anybody can find a way to express their inner being.
I really think the idea of “obliterating the individual self” is so amazing and it’s also incredibly lucky that she can feel this way by creating art! How ecstatic I would be!
She has an exhibition in London, and she wrapped all of the trees on London’s southbank in red and white polkadot fabric! Its fantastic!
Great article her works are full of inspiration, she somehow reminds me of a female yoda.
Polkadots and bright colors never get old!
Wow she is wonderful! Has she had any shows in the states? I’d love to go! I also wear different wigs from time to time. I wish I could get her address at the hospital. I would LOVE to send her some Lime Crime lipsticks when they come out in a week or so!
I saw one of her exhibitions while in Sydney earlier this year, so it’s great to see your post about her. I found her work really memorable and she is the kind of person I would love to invite to a dinner party!
Makes me wish I had hallucinations so I could create some great art too!
Wow – I love her!
This reminded me of my favourite artist growing up – Mariko Mori! I think you’d like her stuff too – http://tinyurl.com/y9jgjyv Have a look :) x
Gala, did you freeze comments on Divinity, Love, & Learning?
Autumn — Yup! I get the message :> I tried something new & some people don’t like it. The end :D
Ah, for a second I thought the site was freaking out on me, though I couldn’t figure out why…
Awesome – thanks for the tip-off, I will check out more of her work. I can imagine how great her shows must be!
Wow, she’s amazing! I really admire women like her—truly fearless, creative, and individualistic. Love it :)
i used yayoi as a artist reference when i was obsessively making art at art school and did you notice
that yayoi kusama has the word yay in her name?
I love the second photo- it makes me feel really calm.
Wow, thanks so much for sharing!
Ooh, I think my mind was just blown. She’s amazing!
So awesome! I live in Wellington how did I not hear about this dammit… Wish I’d made it along.
x
I love her work! I saw her Love Forever show at the MoMa in NYC several years ago and I was blown away. I even bought the book the MoMa put out about the show. She’s truly a unique spirit.
Thank you for sharing your images gala!
I saw it on the news last night and was hoping I could catch it when I come down next week!
Glee! now to schedule that in!
She is fabulous as is this article (love forever is a splendid motto)!
She’s truly one of the greats. Her installations make you feel like you’re walking through your dreams.
This is so great. I was lucky enough to take a feminist art class in college devoted to probably 90% of the female artists mentioned in Hot Topic – it was one of my favorite classes and I think about those artists and the themes we discussed – visible/invisible, craft/art, art/porn etc a lot.
I really hope you’re not just going to brush off all the feedback you got on the last post as negativity, because I’ve just read through them and everyone was really polite and mature apart from one or two. There were some really good points made. I really love icing and would hate for all the awesomeness to be lost in the archives while all this promo and money making stuff gets piled on top of it :(
The website now looks and feels so different to what it used to be and I’m not saying you’re wrong to have changed direction and moved on. I just wish I still had that old Icing community to go to..
It’s a bit scary to post this! But I do care about you and your site and I’ve always been a supporter, telling people about you and recommending your articles all over the place so please don’t think I’m just being nasty…
xo
Drummbellina — I’m not brushing it off, I listened :>
Rad! & super beautiful! Thanks for introducing her!
oh my god i’m glad that you did a feature on her!!! I loved her exhibit in the gagosian gallery in nyc during it’s run in the spring!!!
I just ordered a polka-dot leotard from top shop!
Thanks for sharing lady :)
xx
Wow, I’ve never heard of this artist before, and I’m so glad you brought her to my attention. She’s amazing!
I love this post! I’ve never been a huge fan of polka dots, but man, now I want nothing more than to walk into a room full of ‘em!
I have always loved polka dots! Never knew I was an artist in diguise
;-)
well, I hope Divinity, Love and learning continues..
I wrote to Joycelle asking for advice ;-)
I thought it was an inspiring and lovely feature
please, keep up the experimenting of fun additions to your website
sparkling hugs
I love the new direction your blog is taking, like many others do! I know lots of people are supporting you. I really think that your content has something of worth and value to readers n_n So keep strong, Gala.
x
Thank you so much for posting this. Im going to see her exhibit when Im in Welly next month. Do they really let you photograph it?
Alternate exhibit title- Yayoi Kusama: ideas for interior decoration. I want to collect a zillion mirrors and sew dots everwhere
OMG Gala…this actually freaks me out b/c i’ve been having a dream my entire life that looks like this room! but it has no windows and no doors and I always have it when i get a fever. crazy! Def when you get back to NYC japanese nail art search and make up fun! xox.