This past Spring I had the delight of seeing a much anticipated exhibition at the New York Brooklyn Botanical Garden and was blown away and transfixed by the Alice in Wonderland like landscape and exhibits. Walking through the Kusama exhibition is like going through the looking glass that Alice experiences in Lewis Carol’s novels. Instead of mushroooms you are greeted by trees with red, polka dot sweaters, large, gold pumpkins, a polka dotted starfish and an octopus as well as a variety of large cartoonish flowers. It’s like walking into Kusama’s internal landscape, directly within her imagination.
Kusama’s inspiration comes from nature rather than the human form.
Rather than focusing on human and animal forms like the rabbit, Chesire cat, angry, red, Queen of Hearts or the Madhatter, her main focus is on nature and the ever present dot she delights in using throughout her art.
One of my favorite exhibits are three dimensional dots that are bowling ball sized, silver, globes you can hear softly pinging against each other as you walk across a wood bridge. It’s almost meditative to watch them glide softly across the still waters of the pond as the wind blows them to and fro. If you look closely you can see yourself reflected in miniature as if peering at another self from a distant shore in an alternate universe.
There are 10+ separate elements to bebold in her exhibition and each brings more delight than the next. I absolutely loved engaging in the giant, mirrored cube she created. It’s synonymous with Alice’s looking glass but more varied and detailed in the way it is not just a two dimensional surface but a four sided cube which you can now step into and immerse yourself in.
As I peered into each small circular hole a myriad of spotted dots which clearly reminded me of the vast universe we live in, peered back. What is most noteworthy is that through each viewing circle you get a separate and distinct view of the same internal universe but with a different color prominently featured and from a different persepective. These viewing holes are scattered on the surface of the cube at what seems like random high and low locations.
The work seemed so contemporary and timeless although some were created in 1966 and in the early 1970’s.
Although Kusama’s work may seem contemporary by today’s standards, it was not the case when she presented her work in the early 1970’s, which was 50+ years ago. She was part of the NYC avantegarde movement who staged happenings and popups throughout NYC with her friends and contemporaries. Kusama was very mush an outsider on the fringe of known artists existing in the sphere of the well established, art world. And was struggling to just survive. This point is clearly made so when she presented her silver globes outside of the Venice Bienalle in 1966 as protest against the art establishment and it’s inflated ego by selling each globe for only 2$ each.
So what may seem modern and contemporary now at that time was considered outside of what was acceptable for museums and public consumption. Times have clearly changed. At 92, she is finally garnering the attention and accolades deserved for her creative and artistic genius.
Here is a brief summary of her background.
-Yayoi Kusama was born in Matsumoto, Japan on March 22, 1929.
-Her family owned a nursery and seed farm which has been a large inspiration to her creation process.
-She was raised by parents who were toxic, abusive and unsupportive.
-At 10 years old she started hallucinating flashes of light, patterns and believed that flowers spoke to her. It was a coping mechanism and way of mental escape from the realities of her childhood trauma.
-She studied painting in Kyoto and worked briefly in a textile factory.
-In Japan during the 1950’s Kusama began painting abstract forms on every surface, including naked people.
-While in New York City from 1957-1972, she staged happenings in Central park and the Brooklyn Bridge, while struggling to survive.
-Kusama returned to Japan in 1973 and decided to check herself into a mental hospital after feeling mentally exhausted and physically ill. And has been living there ever since.
She continues to create awe inspiring poetry, fiction, sculptures, paintings and installations from a studio near the hospital. The rest is history..
Explore and see it for yourself.
If you’d like to take a break from the humdrum of everyday life, be sure and walk into another world inspired by the imagination of Yayoi Kusama before it ends on Halloween evening.
