Discovering the Art of Yayoi Kusama
I'm not a big pants and jeans person, basically because I have such a difficult time finding a pair that
fits me perfectly. It has actually been a lifelong frustration for me.
That is, until I got my first pair of Calvin Klein Jeans.
For some weird, inexplicable reason, where all other brands have failed me, only my Calvins and
my Calvins alone can make me feel like Tilda Lindstam.
So I was more than pleasantly surprised when a pair of striped skinnies from little known Shopaholic was a perfect fit for me and I love it!
And so, for yesterday's visit to the Ayala Museum, I put on my current favorite skinnies paired with
a denim top from Cotton On,
and comfy wedges from Chelsea.
Currently ongoing is I Love Kusama,
featuring the works of renowned Japanese avant garde artist Yayoi Kusama.
I found her work very bold and edgy and intriguing.
Kusama is a true master of abstract expressionism. Her art kind of reminded me of my grandfather, Lee Aguinaldo, who was of that era, and himself a proponent of modern art.
So intrigued was I about Kusama's work, that I wanted to find out more
about the person behind the artist. And there I discovered more parallelisms between
her and Lee Aguinaldo.
As expected, Kusama's life story is just as intriguing and filled with nightmares and struggles that she successfully channeled to produce unique, redeeming works of art.
Schooled in traditional Japanese art in her youth, Kusama became interested in European and American art. In the 50s, she left Japan and a strict family life behind to live in New York where her creativity was unleashed, switching from painting to sculpture and installation as her primary media. Despite her success, however, she remained haunted by fears of intimacy and inadequacy so that art became a therapeutic passion. She went back to Japan in 1973. In 1977, Kusama experienced psychiatric problems and was said to have voluntarily admitted herself in a psychiatric facility where she has stayed since. She has, however, managed to remain active even in confinement - producing artworks in various media and even launching a literary career with the publication of, among others, a controversial faux autobiography entitled, Manhattan Suicide Addict.
In an interview with Index magazine in 1998, Kusama was asked if
she ever considered killing herself.
She replied:
"Very often. The impulse came to me pathologically. I suddenly saw a white curtain falling. Everything I saw receded, and I found myself trembling. I would cling to a pillar. If I moved even slightly I would run to the window and throw myself out. This phobia cannot be cured, since it's caused by the trauma from my childhood. I got constant verbal harassment and physical punishment from my mother until I was six years old. At that age I had my first experience of seeing the white curtain come down, and violet blossoms pop out from the tablecloth. Taking medication is the only way to bring me back from this state to the normal one. When I'm in that state, I can't go home. I have to stay in the hospital. Even now."
I found her work very bold and edgy and intriguing.
Kusama is a true master of abstract expressionism. Her art kind of reminded me of my grandfather, Lee Aguinaldo, who was of that era, and himself a proponent of modern art.
So intrigued was I about Kusama's work, that I wanted to find out more
about the person behind the artist. And there I discovered more parallelisms between
her and Lee Aguinaldo.
As expected, Kusama's life story is just as intriguing and filled with nightmares and struggles that she successfully channeled to produce unique, redeeming works of art.
 | |||
| Yayoi Kusama is the featured artist in I Love Kusama at the Ayala Museum, 16 July to 1 September 2013. |
Schooled in traditional Japanese art in her youth, Kusama became interested in European and American art. In the 50s, she left Japan and a strict family life behind to live in New York where her creativity was unleashed, switching from painting to sculpture and installation as her primary media. Despite her success, however, she remained haunted by fears of intimacy and inadequacy so that art became a therapeutic passion. She went back to Japan in 1973. In 1977, Kusama experienced psychiatric problems and was said to have voluntarily admitted herself in a psychiatric facility where she has stayed since. She has, however, managed to remain active even in confinement - producing artworks in various media and even launching a literary career with the publication of, among others, a controversial faux autobiography entitled, Manhattan Suicide Addict.
In an interview with Index magazine in 1998, Kusama was asked if
she ever considered killing herself.
She replied:
"Very often. The impulse came to me pathologically. I suddenly saw a white curtain falling. Everything I saw receded, and I found myself trembling. I would cling to a pillar. If I moved even slightly I would run to the window and throw myself out. This phobia cannot be cured, since it's caused by the trauma from my childhood. I got constant verbal harassment and physical punishment from my mother until I was six years old. At that age I had my first experience of seeing the white curtain come down, and violet blossoms pop out from the tablecloth. Taking medication is the only way to bring me back from this state to the normal one. When I'm in that state, I can't go home. I have to stay in the hospital. Even now."
 | ||||
| Sex Obsession (Diptych), 1992, acrylic on canvas, 194x260 cm., (Lito & Kim Camacho Collection) |
I love Kusama, which opened last 16 July, will run until the 1st of September 2013.
Outfit details:
Outfit details:
Top and blue bangle, Cotton On
Jeans, Shopaholic
Wedge, Chelsea
Bag, Longchamp
Comments
Post a Comment