A couple weeks ago, I went to the Hirschhorn Smithsonian to see the special exhibit of Yayoi Kusama’s infinity rooms. These rooms are covered in mirrors and are filled with Kusama’s soft statues. In addition to the infinity mirror rooms, there was a giant pumpkin covered in polka dots.
If you are unfamiliar with Yayoi Kusama, she is a Japanese artist who spent almost 20 years in the United States creating psychedelia art work and performance art. Some of her most famous work includes her signature polka dots, infinity mirror rooms, soft statures, and naked Vietnam war protests (most of these were going on in the 1960s). She was a contemporary of Warhol (who might have stolen some of her ideas) and is still creating unique works of art at the age of 94 (she was born March 22, 1929).
Currently, Kusama lives in Japan and has been a resident of a mental health facility since her return in the 1970s. She has been open about her struggles with metal health and how it has influenced her work. She has had some recent controversy following her collaboration with Louis Vuitton.
I'm not sure if Pumpkin or that last mirror room was my favorite.
I can confirm that looking at it all was trippy as all get out, especially Phalli’s Field. They are supposed to be soft canvas representations of male anatomy, but I thought they looked like mushrooms - which I guess are also similar looking...
No matter.
The collection was visually and sensory stimulating. Phalli’s Field was probably the most disorienting, as you are shut into a room with an infinity number of versions of you looking at infinity versions of the phalli, all white with red polka dots. When you actually take a change to look into the mirrors, it can be off putting and I nearly lost my balance gazing into the endless reflected space. There's a reason they only let you in for a short amount of time (about 60 seconds) even when there isn't a line behind you.
I did pick up a couple of things at the gift shop (I rarely do this at museums as they are usually overpriced), but I really wanted to read more about Yayoi Kusama and have an enamel pin of Pumpkin. The book I picked up was a biographical graphic novel by Elisa Marcellari simply titled "Kusama: The Graphic Novel". It's a nice introductory history to Kusama's life and work.
I wish I could have gotten the "Alice in Wonderland" edition illustrated by Yayoi Kusama, but it was a little out of my budget. I'll have to find a copy of it elsewhere.
This exhibit has set my creativity alight. Inspiration came a knocking this weekend and I ended up completing a melted crayon painting of my own based on Phalli’s Field. I call it Yayoi's Phalli Room and it's the first melted crayon painting I've done in a while.
The exhibit is active until June 16th. If you are in the DC area, I recommend trying to see it before it closes. Tickets are free (as is the Hirschhorn), but you have to get them at 12:00PM ET the day before you go to the museum. Same day tickets are available, though limited and have a timed entry.
I hope you guys have found some inspiration this week.
Until the next.
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