Yayoi Kusama: A Vivid World of Dots that Redefines Modernism

Source: CNN

An exhibition would be the least important place to visit in most of our bucket list but Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese artist and writer, breaks the stereotype and gives us all, an extravagant experience of life and art at National Art Gallery, Singapore.

Things had never been simpler and life had never been kind enough to the effervescent Yayoi Kusama. Born in Japan in 1929, she paints reflections of her distressing life itself, where her source of happiness lies in the vibrant colours of her work.

Yayoi Kusama’s beloved humble pumpkins are the most recognisable motifs of all, which was kept inside a squared box with a peephole which gives the illusion of a vast field of pumpkins when you peep into it, all her creations have a backstory, the humble pumpkin is the portrayal of her disturbing and psychologically imbalanced life with her parents during World War II, in which her family owned a pumpkin field back then.

In Kusama's context, being a modernist is not her breakthrough in the art world, but rather her daring anti-capitalist perception. She created Manufacturing Narcissus, for instance, as an artistic portrayal of the social change through hallucinogenic and synaesthesia inducing effect where she clustered 1300 mirrored balls in a room.

Her obsessive compulsion over phallic objects and modern arts based on the phallus, gives us a different perspective over sex and male dominance. The elixir for Yayoi Kusamas’ art works are the poetic allure of the titles.

With all the effective modernism and socialist activism, one should not conclude that Kusamas’ arts are only for the high context culture. Anna, a 20-year-old traveller from London, UK, said, “I love Yayoi Kusamas’ work, I came all the way here from London to visit the exhibition as I missed the one in my home country.” She is a photographer and she also said that Ms. Kusamas’ works are photographic material.