pink; dots obsession

designsonfragility.wordpress.com

Yayoi Kusama has been dot obsessed since the beginning of her career which began in the sixties and has painted dots on everything including naked bodies. The one thing everyone asks when telling another about Kusama is "Did you know she voluntarily admitted herself into a mental hospital where she now lives in Japan?!?!" Yes it is true. And yes, it is an interesting fact to pull out that makes people go 'WOW!' Her studio is near by the hospital, allowing for a short walk every morning.

I found a quote from her describing how her obsession with dots began;

"One day I was looking at the red flower patterns of the tablecloth on a table, and when I looked up I saw the same pattern covering the ceiling, the windows and the walls, and finally all over the room, my body and the universe. I felt as if I had begun to self-obliterate, to revolve in the infinity of endless time and the absoluteness of space, and be reduced to nothingness. As I realized it was actually happening and not just in my imagination, I was frightened. I knew I had to run away lest I should be deprived of my life by the spell of the red flowers. I ran desperately up the stairs. The steps below me began to fall apart and I fell down the stairs straining my ankle."

english.peopledaily.com.cn

Kusama creates a space where dimension is distorted and space is endless within large scale installations using lanterns, mirrors and dots. Dots Obsessed was a work created for a show in Munich in 2008 but is very much like many installations she has created around the world. These 'spaces' allow for your psychedelic dreams to come true, allowing you to 'trip out' in what seems to be a step back in time, into the sixties when people were experimenting with acid. These rooms are mesmerizing, creating a infinite space, and allows us to play amongst a landscape that feels like it's straight out of our childhood dreams.

english.peopledaily.com.cn

You can check out more of her works here or go to this site to meander through what is a work-in-progress documentary about the artist, who is now in her 80's. Typing in Yayoi Kusama into youtube will allow you to get a sense of what it is like to venture into one of her installations. If in Los Angeles, The Gagosian has a work of hers on show in a group exhibition until September 2nd.