Yayoi Kusama (1929)
Plastic artist
Yayoi Kusama (1929) was born in Matsumoto, rural Japan province, in the cradle of a conservative family who did not accept his vocation for the world of the arts. His work is a mixture of various arts, such as collages, paintings, sculptures, performing art and environmental installations, where a characteristic that has become the artist's mark is visible: the obsession with points and balls. When I was 10 years old, she began to paint her characteristics Infinite polka dots (the famous Polka Dots), at first in watercolors, pastels and oils.
Their creations work with influences from minimalism, pop art, surrealism and of abstract expressionism.
Currently, Yayoi Kusama is celebrated as one of the most important live visual artists and its exhibitions bring together hordes of fans around the world.
Change for America
It was in 1957, at the age of 28, that Yayoi decided to move to the United States. She settled in New York at the invitation of American painter Georgia O'Keeffe. In a letter to the painter he so admired, Yayoi confessed:
I'm just in the first step of a long and difficult life to become a painter. Would you kindly show me the way?
Welcoming by the American painter, in the United States participated in a series of pop art scenes. He exhibited innovative pieces that featured mirror games and electric light.
Yayayoi lived the counterculture and participated in a series of controversial events that involved naked participants painted with their characteristics colored polka dots.
The Japanese was also an activist for the anti-war movement.
The return to Japan
In 1973, Yayoi decided to return to Japan. On that occasion, in addition to paintings, performances and sculptures, he also began to write novels and poems.
Even though he was in Japan, he continued to exhibit his works around the world in individual and collective exhibitions, especially in America and Europe.
Works
His works are generally based on Patterns that are repeated and were marked by the famous dots (the polka dots).
About the creation process, in an interview with the artist, he stated:
I am an obsessive artist. I consider myself a heretic of the art world. I only think about myself when I do my work.
From 1994, Yayoi started creating sculptures outdoors. Invitation by Marc Jacobs.
The psychiatric illness
Due to the mental illness it has been carrying since childhood, Yayoi has lived in a psychiatric hospital for over forty years.
In 1975, the artist decided to live voluntarily in a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo. Currently, she has a studio near the hospital where she goes to work daily.
My art originates from hallucinations that only I can see. I translate the hallucinations and obsessive images into sculptures and paintings. However, I create works even when I don't see hallucinations (...) my work is an expression of my life, particularly my mental illness.
Personal life
You never heard of any love relationship from Yayoi Kusama. lonely, the Japanese plastic artist seems to have focused all her energy on her creations.
About the videos
Kusama Documentary: Infinity
In 2018, at the Independent Film Festival of Sundance, in the United States, was released the documentary Kusama: Infinity, directed by Heather Lenz.
This is the second biographical documentary about the life of Yayoi, the first of them was released in 2008. Film titled Yayoi Kusama, I Adore Myself had its most restricted disclosure to Japan.
