Questions and Answers
What inspired Yayoi's move to the USA?
A letter she sent to Georgia O'Keeffe with her watercolour paintings
What was unique about Yayoi's art in the USA?
PAINTING ON CLOTHES AND PEOPLE
Who were some of the famous artists Yayoi befriended in the USA?
Warhol, Cornell, and Judd
What was Yayoi's safe space?
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At what age did Yayoi move to the USA?
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What does Yayoi see herself as in her old age?
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Where did Yayoi Kusama's parents own a seed nursery that grew flowers for sale?
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What did Yayoi's parents want her to become instead of an artist?
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What did Yayoi use to create art when her canvases were taken away?
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What did Yayoi see in her hallucination experience in the flower beds?
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How did drawing help Yayoi feel?
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What did Yayoi use to connect with other people?
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Study Notes
- Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese artist, made a promise to herself to become world-famous for her paintings, sculptures, and creative energy when she first moved to New York City and stood at the top of the Empire State Building.
- Born in Matsumoto, Japan, Yayoi grew up surrounded by mountains and nature, and her parents owned a seed nursery that grew flowers for sale across the country.
- As a young child, Yayoi would sit in the flower beds with her sketchbook, getting lost in her imagination, and knew she wanted to be an artist, but her parents were against the idea, wanting her to become a housewife instead.
- At the time, most artists in Japan were men, and Yayoi's parents would often get into fights with her over her artistic ambitions, even taking away her canvases, but she would continue to create using old sacks instead.
- Yayoi had a hallucination experience in the flower beds, where she saw the flowers come to life, with their heads resembling dots that went on forever, making her feel as if she was being obliterated or breaking into little pieces and disappearing into a field of endless dots.
- Drawing helped Yayoi feel calmer and more in control, and she began to use dots to connect with other people, as seen in her drawing of her mother.
- Yayoi was inspired by the work of famous American artist Georgia O'Keeffe, and sent her a letter and some watercolour paintings, which led to a response and an introduction to her art dealer, marking the start of a new adventure for Yayoi.
- At 27 years old, Yayoi packed 2000 drawings into her suitcase and moved to the USA, where she could paint from morning to night, working on giant canvases and becoming known for putting dots on walls, clothes, people, and even a horse.
- Yayoi found fans who wanted her to paint dots on their bodies, allowing them to become part of her artworks, and she befriended famous American artists, including Andy Warhol, Joseph Cornell, and Donald Judd.
- Despite facing challenges as a woman in a male-dominated art scene, Yayoi continued to create art as a safe space for herself, where she could feel at peace.
- Now in her nineties, Yayoi is famous worldwide for her work, having fulfilled her promise to herself, and sees herself as a single dot connected to everyone else in the world, with the Earth being like one little polka dot among millions of other celestial bodies.
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