The Colourful Life of Yayoi Kusama

Initial Impressions of Kusama

I found a poster like this, first on the airport, then on a train station:

My initial impressions of Ms Kusama:

Her wild hair seems even wilder than wild youths, her mushroom hair is stylish, and her expression is serious yet calm.

Her art style alone is whimsical and vibrant. She brings out 'life' that is je ne sais pas sort of manner. The bright and warm colours, the dots that are repeated over and over, her bright shiny features, they just bring an abundance of joy and excitement. Her work is deceptively simple - looks plain, but deep within, it seems like a rich tapestry of a long and exciting journey the artist went through.

A dot looks like an atom. When we wake up, sometimes when we open our eyes, we see many small dots. The dots spread in the vast world and it fills our world. I immediately made a connection with the dots.

What a lovely and colourful lady! She looks like the perfect grandmother I wished I had: very focused in her craft, even as her work evokes exhilaration and exploration. She is groundbreaking in whatever she does, and she has a flair and style of her own that assures me I can be myself, no matter what I am.

I am so curious I get excited even entertaining encountering her artwork. I know this is a real icon that I may seldom meet.

On the way to the museum (National Gallery of Singapore) I found out, astonishingly, that she checks herself in a psychiatric hospital. Living as an Asian, where mental health still has a stigma attached to it, I am surprised she kept herself going for so many years with new and exciting artwork that is high quality.

Looking at her age I am aware she experienced World War II like people in my grandmother's generation, but what I did not know is that the 'obliteration' or the splotting and splashing of dots all around me is an influence of the scars and horrors of war. Also I read about her adventures in USA and thought, maybe she had culture shock.

Also, I smirked when I hear she has no children, nary a grandchild. She seems really supportive of homosexual people - she even staged a gay wedding. She is still relevant and cool, even till today.

I happen to stop and watch a few of the video clips and felt so moved, I dashed to the National Gallery.

Into Kusama World

Before I stepped into the museum:

Welcome to a world full of polka dots and wonder!

It gave me an introduction to what I should expect to see:

Lots of dots. Lots of bright colours. Most important of all, lots of mirrors!

When I stepped in:

Even better: fruits and flowers! More bright yellow. More dots. And more fun!

While waiting to get to the exhibition, I was greeted by this inviting and fun-looking door:

Welcome to the world of Kusama

When I opened the door, I saw what I expected to see. A few art pieces from her lifetime. They are traditional Japanese paintings, if I can recall, so even I also felt restricted.

Then somewhere in the middle, I saw this:

Ropes with black dots

I need not read any guides to know what is going on. It seems to state the artist, in a monochrome setting, is struggling with the entanglement of her mental state. It seems that the unhealthy thoughts encircle and strangles all around our minds. 

This is, without a doubt, the exhibit that resonated with me - because it precisely is not loud splashes of dots and colours, and is close to my life.

I am not sure how psychiatric treatment works out for her. However, when I see this intricate pattern, I start to see the world. As we move through our messed up states of mind, I see repeated patterns: the mood may be dark and sombre most of the time, but surely, there are a few bright spots in our lives.

Like the one below:

Pumpkins

Pumpkins!

I love pumpkins. So yummy and so big.

The joy in simple objects can stay us grounded no matter what we do.

The statute of Venus wrapped in gold and black dots is stunning. Being the Goddess of Love, I love it that Venus is interpreted, not just in erotic beauty, but also with the two constants in life: the warm glow of good times, and the dark shadows of bad times, to say the least.

As the exhibition wound on, I purposely missed the Infinity Room as the queues are too long and I am overwhelmed with too many reflective light. I think I might have missed something here. However, my heart flutter with delight when I see pumpkins like above! This pumpkin looks lovely as it looks like a ladybug, too!

And then I saw a few pictures of Kusama's life.

Kusama and horse, all dotted

She was there in Woodstock! More dots, even on horses, freely chewing on the grass. Looks delightful.

Heard of 'Occupy Wall Street'? I am rather surprised this happened more than 5 decades ago with Kusama and a few others being naked in Wall Street, to obliterate Wall Street with dots and naked bodies.

Then, another chamber, another room filled with bright shiny objects.

Pumpkin Staricases

Reflections

Overall, I walked out of the gallery feeling grateful. I see gloom, despair and anger which turns out to be vibrant, lively and generally, cheerful and bright.

Life gets better with the wonderful things in life, doesn't it?

I wish we can find the beautiful things as we recover and go on living life to its fullest.