Yayoi Kusama was born on March 22, 1929, and is a Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in sculpture and installation. She also does performance, painting, fashion, fiction, poetry, video art, and other arts.
According to Wikipedia, Yayoi's work "is based in conceptual art and shows some attributes of feminism, minimalism, surrealism, Art Brut, pop art, and abstract expressionism, and is infused with autobiographical, psychological, and sexual content. She has been acknowledged as one of the most important living artists to come out of Japan."
She was raised in Matsumoto and then trained at the Kyoto City University of Arts in a traditional Japanese painting style called nihonga. However, she was inspired by American Abstract impressionism.
In 1958, Wikipedia states, "Yayoi moved to New York City and was a part of the New York avant-garde scene throughout the 1960s, especially in the pop-art movement. Embracing the rise of the hippie counterculture of the late 1960s, she came to public attention when she organized a series of happenings in which naked participants were painted with brightly colored polka dots. Since the 1970s, Yayoi has created art, most notably installations in museums around the world.
She has been open about her mental health, and says that art allows her a way to express her mental problems. She reported in the interview she did with Infinity Net "I fight pain, anxiety, and fear every day, and the only method I have found that relieved my illness is to keep creating art. I followed the thread of art and somehow discovered a path that would allow me to live."
Below are several pieces or installations that Yayoi has done and what Olivia remembered about them after studying them for a while.
- In the room, there is a dining room/kitchen presented. Everything is covered in polka dots. There are polka dots on top of polka dots.
- There are definitely areas in the room where the polka dots are closer to one another and on top of one another.
- There is a dining room table with six chairs. There are plates, cups, a wine glass, and a pitcher of some sort...like a tea kettle. They were all covered in polka dots.
- On the wall to the right, there is a cabinet - it's open on top, but there are doors on the bottom. Following along that, it looks like there is a counter or a kitchen sink. I couldn't tell if there was a picture or a window above the sink.
- There also appears to be a plant in the back of the picture.
- The walls are definitely more heavily polka-dotted than the floor.
- The polka dots were in colors of red, orange, yellow, pink, blue, and green.
- In the picture, there are a ton of yellow pumpkins with black dots all over them.
- The dots are all neatly in order. Starting in the center section of a pumpkin, they get smaller.
- They also seem to move the natural lines of the pumpkins.
- Even the stems are painted black with gold dots matching the sides of the pumpkins in reverse.
- It looks like there are mirrors on the sides of the walls and ceiling to make the room bigger than what it is actually.
- The floor looks like it is somewhat reflective as well...just like it has been polished.
- The pumpkins seem to glow from the inside - like they are lamps.
- The colors look yellow and black - like a bee.
************************
Pumpkin (M), 2013, Victoria Miro, London
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there is one big lone pumpkin. It appears to be made out of metal and I can't tell if it black first and then painted gold in some areas.
- The polka dots seem to be cut out of the yellow/bronze/gold metal that is laying on top of the pumpkin.
- The stem is in the reverse of the body where it's gold dots with a black surface.
- The ridges on the pumpkin really stand out.
- In the center, the dots are bigger and as they move out they get smaller.
- There are willow trees in the background. It is definitely outside.
- It kind of looks like a big piece of Swiss cheese. It kind of reminds me of Swiss cheese.
************************
Flowers that speak all about my heart given to the sky, 2018, Victoria Miro, London, 2018, photo: Thierry-Bal
Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there are three big flowers. Each flower is a slightly different color. The one on the left has yellow petals on the inside with black polka dots with pink on the outside of the petals. The inside color with a different outside color repeats for the other two flowers.
- The inside is painted with a bright color - like red, yellow, or green. Those three colors make the seeds on the inside of the flower. It gives it an interesting look.
- They are in the shape of little rectangles. It kind of reminds me of a spider web.
- The leaves of the flowers also have polka dots on them.
- They look like they are on some wooden deck or platform.
- The second flower to the right is red and white. The other one is pink and blue.
- Some of the leaves have yellow or blue polka dots.
- Some of the undersides of the leaves are lighter green with polka dots.
- The flowers look like they could swallow you up and the petals would close in on you.
- In the picture, there is a vase and four flowers in it. One on the left is hanging down and is open. It is pointing to the table. The other three are pointing up and are open.
- The whole picture reminds me of a mosaic and those dot mandalas.
- The whole picture is black and white too.
- The surface of the table is white with black dots that seem to be going in a wave motion.
- The vase has two handles on the side.
- On the center of the vase has bigger random circle. As you go out, they are smaller and they are squished in between the bigger dots - or tucked in - giving it a 3D look.
- Some of the flowers reminded me of dandelions - especially the white ones.
- The handles look like they are made out of rope looking like how the dots are formed on it.
- The background is a bunch of little pieces that look like a mosaic.
- The opening of the vase looks like a clamshell with curves in them. It reminds me of those bigger clam shells that - I think I saw something where they are really big and could swallow a person. Not like they could actually do that.
- Some of the leaves look like them are snapped onto the stems - not like they are growing out from them.
- The leaves kind of reminded me of dandelion leaves because of how jagged they are and how many points they have on them.
************************
Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms
Tate Modern in London
Olivia remembered:
- In the room, there are a bunch of lights. There also looks like there are mirrors in the room to reflect the light and make it look bigger.
- There's also a walkway in the center of the room - a path - and there is a big blob in the center of the photo. That could have been the camera taking the picture.
- The lights were purples and yellow - contrasting colors. They looked like they were hanging from the ceiling.
- Definitely looks like you are in space. Each of the lights is a galaxy.
- Definitely looks like there are pillars in the room to support the ceiling and the room.
- It's an empty-ish room with mirrors and lights.
- I think it would be cool. It reminds me of a mirror maze. It would be disorienting. You wouldn't know what is a wall and may walk into that.
1 comment:
Interesting! I have never heard of her. Definitely has the wow factor. :)
Post a Comment