Yayoi Kusama: A strange mother-in-law who draws dots.

Shortly after Halloween, pumpkins all over the street reminded me of a pumpkin covered with dots. It seems that children's paintings fascinate countless people. This is the work of Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese eccentric mother-in-law. She is over 90 years old, wearing a bright red wig and a unique suit to show off, which makes her one of the most recognizable artists. As the best-selling female artist in the world today, she occupies a very important position in the history of contemporary art and is extremely special. She can't even be accurately defined as any art school, or we can call it "grass art"

Perhaps she has become the most famous artist on the Internet in recent years, and every exhibition will attract the greatest attention of the society and the biggest selfie craze, but do you really know her works?

Yayoi Kusama has a unique view on art, leaving many unique works of art to the world, which has brought strong visual impact and enjoyment to countless audiences. One of the most representative and beyond reproach is her wave-point pumpkin series.

Yayoi Kusama's memory of pumpkins comes from her grandparents' farm when she was a child. For Yayoi Kusama, pumpkin is the softest thing in her memory, which can bring her comfort and peace, which obviously goes far beyond the meaning of a vegetable. Yayoi Kusama said in an interview: "Pumpkins always make me smile. They are the most interesting vegetables. "

Why do you call her a strange mother-in-law First of all, she is an artist and a mental patient. She lives in a mental hospital. Secondly, Yayoi Kusama's works always use gorgeous and contrasting colors. In her later years, she returned to the pure creative realm, but she was still keen on using high-purity colors, red or yellow. She said she was an obsessive-compulsive artist. But I think she is the only unique artist in the world.

Tragic childhood.

Yayoi Kusama was born in a wealthy Japanese family from 65438 to 0929, and was the only daughter of four brothers and sisters. Her mother was very depressed because she was unfaithful to her husband. She often forces Cao Jian to see her father and his lover. If she loses her, she will be punished by her mother. For a child, what she sees is not a simple and beautiful world, but this ugly thing. This experience made her feel fear and pain, and also made her hate sexy all her life.

When Cao Jian/Kloc-0 was 0/0 years old, she was diagnosed with neurological hearing impairment and schizophrenia. These unspeakable uneasiness made her find a little peace and relief from painting. She painted these visions with a brush to relieve her inner anxiety and fear. At this time, painting may have become the only pleasure in her life.

Yayoi Kusama's mother knew nothing about her daughter's illness because she was absorbed in the family business. She thinks that Yayoi Kusama should be a rich girl who collects art, and painting is not what a rich girl should do. As a result, her mother destroyed her canvas and often locked her up to fight. Great mental pressure and strong fear make Yayoi Kusama's spirit on the verge of collapse. In desperation, she often tries to commit suicide, and painting is the only reason for her to live.

This fear affected Xiaocao for a long time. When she grew up, Yayoi Kusama had the idea of escaping from this suffocating family. She is an ardent admirer of Georgia O 'Keeffe, an American master of art, so she wrote to Ou Jifu, pouring out her despair and love for art and asking for her advice. With the support of Ou Jifu, she finally fled her hometown at 1957 and went to the United States, although the United States is a completely strange country to her.

Before leaving, her mother gave her 6,543.8+0,000 yen, telling her never to set foot in the house. When she left, she destroyed thousands of works on the riverbank outside her home to express her anger at her mother.

From travel to fame

When she first arrived in America, her life and career were not smooth. She is lonely, penniless and doesn't know any language. She was frozen awake in the rented apartment in the middle of the night and painted until dawn. It was not easy to wander in the male-dominated art circle in new york at that time. Even though she participated in some exhibitions and was appreciated by many artists at that time, and her works were copied by other artists, she was still not recognized by the mainstream art circles in new york and has been in economic difficulties.

Yayoi Kusama has always wanted to attend the Venice Biennale. 1966, she took her own work "The Garden of Narcissism" and participated in the 33rd Venice Biennale without being invited by the government. In the middle of the night, she put a total of 1500 stainless steel balls with a diameter of 30 cm in the outdoor exhibition hall, and Yayoi Kusama sat in it wearing a golden kimono and sold them at a price of $2 each. On the one hand, she earns living expenses, on the other hand, she is considered to be criticizing the commercialized art market.

Although she was quickly forced away by the organizers, her unique approach caused a sensation in society. At the same time, she became the first Japanese female artist to participate in the 33rd Venice Biennale, and became famous internationally.

After receiving attention, she also invited a group of dancers to perform naked in front of the new york Stock Exchange and made a statement against capitalism. Lead the action art naked across the Brooklyn Bridge; Even without permission, she held a flash performance art in the sculpture garden of new york Museum of Modern Art, which shocked the whole country at that time and made her on the front page of new york Daily News. Finally, in the early 1970s, Yayoi Kusama ushered in her most brilliant period in new york.

At the same time, she met a legendary figure at that time-joseph cornell, a famous American surrealist photographer and collectivist sculptor in modern times, and started a love affair for ten years, with a difference of 26 years. This is the only love story in Yayoi Kusama's life, and perhaps the best and sweetest memory in her life.

90-year-old present continuous tense

Joseph Kornel died in 1972, and the death of her lover brought a heavy blow to Cao Jian. Since then, her mental problems have become more and more serious. 1975 In the spring, she returned to Tokyo from new york and was admitted to a mental hospital for treatment. Since then, her life has been a two-point line between the studio and a mental hospital. She has lived in a mental hospital for 40 years, and the rest of her life began here. To this day, she is 90 years old and continues to write.

Since 2000, you can almost see the grass in contemporary art exhibitions around the world. Her work "Infinite Web" set a new record in Christie's auction in 20 14, and the transaction price reached 7 10/00000 USD, which once again showed the commercial value of Yayoi Kusama's works. In 20 12, she cooperated with Louis Vuitton (LV) to launch a series of new products, including wrapping tools and high-grade ready-to-wear clothes.

Yayoi Kusama's artistic creation is closely related to his mental state. She called her work "Art Medicine". She once said that she was afraid of death, but when she was creating art, she was the happiest, so she worked more than 8 hours a day to keep herself in a state of high spirits so as not to worry. Once she stops, she will have a headache. The work Infinite Web first attracted attention in new york, which was inspired by an illusion that has been bothering her since she was a child.

In her works, the dot is the most indispensable, and it has become a symbol of Yayoi Kusama. Yayoi Kusama once said that these infinitely repeated dots formed a huge net, just like the world she saw. The portrait she drew for her mother when she was a child was full of dots. For her, these points are the fears in her heart, and painting has become a good medicine to cure her and free herself from fear.

In addition to dots and pumpkins, mirrors are also the most commonly used materials in grass, and the most popular one should be the series Infinite Mirror House. In a small room, surrounded by mirrors, small lights are used to decorate the dark mirror image space. The audience is in it, and it feels wonderful, like being in a galaxy and stars, and like being in a dream, which makes people unable to tell whether it is reality or illusion. They feel that they can reach out and feel that they are far away from light years.

Everyone has their own fears. When we encounter the fear in our hearts, most people will choose to escape and try not to touch it, thinking that it can be forgotten over time, but in fact it still exists and cannot be eliminated. It's not just the work of online celebrities. When we got to know Yayoi Kusama better, we walked into the mirror house again. While getting a perfect selfie, you will find that these luminous dots seem to touch our hearts directly. At that moment, the world stood still and we all melted in that environment.

I like the name she gave to the series, Mirror House, Infinite Mirror House-full of life brilliance, Infinite Mirror House-a soul millions of light years away. Although life has given her infinite pain, she has turned these pains, fears and anxieties into love, love herself and the world, and illuminated all the terrible things that we all want to hide but dare not face, just like in this universe. what is love ? The art of watching grass. In her life, she expressed her love for mankind and the whole world through art.