Yayoi Kusama The Passing Winter 2005
You may wish to use this page along with Merry-Go-Round Booklet p.6 : Make a circle in the air. Merry-Go-Round booklet
The circle is used as a symbol for infinity, having no fixed beginning or end – like a rotating wheel. This gives us the opportunity for endless new beginnings.
The Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama (born 1929) is fascinated by the idea of infinity. She expresses herself by covering her work in hundreds and thousands of brightly coloured polka dots:
“The dot is a symbol of our earth, which is in itself only one dot among a million in the cosmos. The moon, the sun, the stars are all made up of dots. You and me, we are dots.”
After studying traditional art in Japan, Kusama made a new beginning for herself by travelling alone all the way from home to New York City; what a brave thing to do!
She was so passionate about her dots that she painted them all day, and sometimes all night too; what a lot of practice she did! Now she is famous all over the world for her dots – and for her distinctive red wig.
With all my love for the tulips (2011)
Can you spot Kusama in this picture? Can you spot the tulip?
Find out more:
Book:
From Here to Infinity – Yayoi Kusama (Sarah Suzuki)
Download a pdf version of this page :_Famous Artists and their Circles 1 Kusama
Video: Kusama speaks about her life and work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRZR3nsiIeA
Produced by An Lanntair as part of Full Circle Arts programme. Funded through the Aspiring Communities Fund with support from the European Social Fund.