Yayoi Kusama : A Dream I Dreamed

Vaba laupäev ja õhkõrn lootus, et pääsen lõpuks MoCA'sse Kusama näitusele.

Kusama sündis Jaapanis Naganos, tegeles juba noores eas usinalt kunstiga ning läks seda ka edasi õppima, kuid talle ei meeldinud traditsiooniline jaapani kunstivool. Südamelähedaseks osutus hoopis lääne avangard ning 1957. aastal läks ta täiesti üksi, kedagi eelnevalt tundmata, New Yorki. Seal asus ta lisaks maalidele looma ka installatsioone ja häppeninge. Kusama mummulised tööd ning ekstravagantne isiksus kindlustasid ta koha 1960ndate popkunsti liikumises. Seitsmekümnendate alguses kolis ta tagasi Jaapanisse ning lasi end vabatahtlikult psühhiaatriahaiglasse sisse kirjutada, kus ta elab kuni tänase päevani. Ometigi tohib ta sealt lahkuda selleks, et minna oma lähedalasuvasse stuudiosse ja jätkata oma loominguliste töödega.

Kusama töid iseloomustavad eelkõige täpid, psühhedeelsed värvid, lõpmatuseni korduvad mustrid ja elemendid, mis on kõik inspireeritud hallutsinatsioonidest, mida ta on lapsest saati näinud.

Lisaks maalidele ja installatsioonidele on Kusama avaldanud mitmeid luulekogumikke, loonud filme või neis osalenud. Ka on ta disaininud Lancôme'i jaoks piiratud koguses toodete pakendeid ja teinud koostööd Louis Vuitton'iga.

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A perfectly fine saturday and a hope I'll finally make it to MoCA to see Kusama's exhibition.

Kusama was born in Nagano, Japan and already started creatinf art in an early age. As she went on to study painting, she found herself frustrated with the traditional Japanese style and showd more interest towards the western Avant-garde. In 1957 she moved to New York - all alone and without previously knowing anyone there. There, she started also creating installations and organizing art happenings. The extravagant persona of Kusama and her surreal works full of dots secured her a spot in the pop-art movement of the 60's. She moved back to Japan in the beginning of 70's and admitted herself voluntarily to a psychiatric hospital where she lives until this day. Yet, she is allowed to leave the hospital to go work on her artworks in her studio located nearby.

The works of Kusama have a recurring theme of polka dots, psychedelic colors and include a repetition of patterns and elements, all of which are inspired by the hallucinations she has seen since she has been a child.

Besides creating paintings and installations, she has also published literary works, created movies or acted in them. She has also designed limited edition Lancôme product packaging and collaborated with Louis Vuitton.

 

 Suurim elamus - Infinity Mirrored Room. Installatsioon, milleks on pisike ruum. Selle seintel on peeglid ja maas on vesi, mille ülesanneteks on peegeldada sadu värvimuutvaid rippuvaid lambikesi. Tulemuseks on sürreaalne ruum, milles viibides kaotavad aeg ja ruum mõiste - on ainult lõpmatus, tuhanded tulukesed ja sina (ja minu puhul, veel mitukümmend hiinlast).

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My favourite installation was the Infinity Mirrored Room. It's a small room, where all the walls are covered with mirrors and there is water on the floor - all of these reflect the hundreds of lights hanging from the ceiling, which also change colors. This results in a surreal room, where the time and matter seem to loose their meaning - all you have is infinity, thousands of lights and you (and in my case, quite a few chinese chicks taking photos).

 
 

Boonus - leidsin Lonely Planet'i reisijuhi abiga pisikese poekese, mis müüd second hand väliskirjandust. Ehk siis raamatud hinnaga 8￥-25￥ja Times'i, Bussinessweek'i, National Geographic'u, Cosmopolitan'i, Vogue'i jnejnejne 2013. aasta septemberi ja isegi detsembri väljaanded - kõik alla 20 jüaani! Pood oli imeväike, aga ma veetsin seal vist kõike sirvides tunnikese kindlasti ja kui praeguse lektüüriga ühele poole saan, siis varsti külastan seda kohta jälle! 

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Bonus - I managed to find a second-hand foreign literature shop thanks to my Lonely Planet Shanghai guide! It had books with prices ranging from 8￥-25￥ and old issues of Times, Bussinessweek, National Geographic, Cosmopolitan, Vogue etc. all for less than 20 kuai! The shop is absolutely tiny, but I think I managed to spend an hour over there, just going through all the shelves and I'm so totally going back to that place!