Introduction
I was saddened to learn about the passing of Yayoi Kusama this week. She was 97 years old.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with her work, she gained fame for her installation art exhibits that have been shown around the world. She was an important part of the pop-art movement in New York in the 1960s and influenced many people, including Andy Warhol. Georgia O’Keeffe was a friend and advisor.
Through her later years, she struggled with mental health issues, going so far as to check herself in to a psychiatric facility in Tokyo, where she lived most of the rest of her life.
She made the dramatic statement that art kept her alive.
About Installation Art
Installation art is typically bigger than big. Picture the Brooklyn Bridge covered in pink gauze.
A room full of pumpkins painted with polka-dots.
It is usually immersive and engages all of the senses, particularly sound, vision and touch.
Many people see installation art as being somewhat absurd or ludicrous, a distraction from reality.
That to me is the point.
About Yayoi Kusama
Her early life was influenced by the recurring sensation of hallucinations of dots, flashes of lights and more. During World War II, when she was just a teenager, developed her sense of creative freedom and expression.
She was obsessed with polka dots, an expression of her own sense of obliteration.
I’ll get this out of the way: she made racist comments, particularly about black people. She later retracted those statements and apologized.
‘I deeply regret using hurtful and offensive language in my book. My message has always been one of love, hope, compassion, and respect for all people. My lifelong intention has been to lift up humanity through my art. I apologize for the pain I have caused.’
Through the 1960s, different artists copied her work, gaining fame while she felt ignored. This lead to her being extremely private and secretive about her process.
By the mid-60s, she stood out from the rest mainly as a result of two art forms: her infinity mirror rooms (which we recently experienced at the Art Gallery of Ontario) and her happenings, particularly in protest against the Vietnam War, where she offered to have sex with Richard Nixon if he call an end to the ‘police action’.
She decried the perils and evils of capitalism.
Kusama wrote eight novels and many books of poetry.
In 2012, she designed a clothing line for Louis Vuitton.
Peter Gabriel collaborated with her for his video ‘Lovetown’:
If you’re feeling loaded with cash, you could pick up a couple of her original images.
Installation Art for Musicians?
Music is the closest thing we have to regular ‘happenings’, an event where artists surprise the public with a display of their talent or interests.
The reality is that this is a silly question because Exhibit A, Peter Gabriel is posted above. It’s a simple and single example of how a musician easily integrates the visual aspects of installation art with their music. In fact, if you ever get a chance to go to a Peter Gabriel show, GO! He’s one of the best performing artists in the world right now. The visual components are equally as engaging as the music itself.
Burning Man is one giant annual installation art exhibit.
Over the last couple of decades, musicians have accelerated their use of audio / visual entertainment. Hundreds of bands make different uses of lighting, videos and other media to create unique experiences. Some even say the fogs of marijuana smoke help make a difference 😉
We had the privilege of participating with U2’s Sphere performance in 2022. The entire show was an outstanding use of the infrastructure – cameras, speakers, LED lighting, etc – to generate a once-in-a-lifetime show.
Installation Art for Writers?
The passing of Kusama has me wondering if there are opportunities for writers to engage in installation art.
Can authors ‘present’ their work in ways that will make their readings and other discussions more interesting? I ask this because I think readings could be a LOT more engaging.
Imagine some or all of the following with a reading:
- Projections of images related to the text, either specific or contextual.
- Subtitles – just in case I’m mumbling or throw in a few ‘ten dollar words’ that someone may not be familiar with (including myself).
- Ambient sounds that ‘harmonize’ with the text. If I’m describing a forest, why not have some forest sounds in the background that, of course, don’t override my reading.
- Smell – is there a way to integrate even basic smell with your reading? If you’re describing an industrial town, maybe inject a little smog.
- Touch – since readings tend to be somewhat distant – the author on a stage and you down in the room – touch is less likely, but still worth considering when it comes to engaging an audience.
I doubt I’ll be integrating any aspects of installation art with my readings any time soon, but you never know.
The world of entertainment is in heavy competition with itself and authors need to advance their level of engagement if we’re going to survive.
More Information
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yayoi_Kusama
- https://www.phillips.com/article/108269772/repetition-and-accumulation-7-things-you-need-to-know-about-yayoi-kusama
- https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/21-facts-about-yayoi-kusama
- https://samblog.seattleartmuseum.org/2017/08/10-surprising-facts-about-yayoi-kusama/
- https://www.davidzwirner.com/artists/yayoi-kusama
- https://artreview.com/old-racist-comments-by-yayoi-kusama-resurface-on-exhibition-eve/