Yayoi Kusama's Self-Reflexive Creativity
Context: The first assignment prompted you to consider potential directions for your final research paper. This assignment builds on your deliberations by asking you to consider two questions: why is your topic interesting, and why is it important. The first question will drive your draft introduction, which requires you to narrow your focus to a key example, build an opening paragraph around that focus to set up a thesis statement, and then start to develop your argument. Understanding why your topic is important involves knowing and understanding the conversation and context around it, which is the goal of the annotated bibliography.
Assignment:
Draft introduction: Starting from a key image, quotation, anecdote, or idea, develop an opening paragraph that leads to a thesis statement. You might opt to revert to what many of us learned in high school—namely, starting with a general statement and narrowing your content towards the specific [your thesis statement]. This technique is often referred to as the “hourglass” format. From there, draft two or three follow-up paragraphs that start to develop your thesis into the opening strategies of your argument.
Annotated bibliography: Starting from a list of at least five sources, write a brief [100 words] annotation for each source that explains what the source is about, its context, and its relevance to your argument (for example, how is it different from and/or similar to the other sources you have included). In general, at least one of your sources should come from the syllabus and no more than 20% of those sources should come from the web. (Publications that originate in print form but are accessed through on-line sources like jstor do not count as web-based.)
Considerations: Ensure your topic is narrow enough to be covered in 1800-2100 words. If you anticipate discussing more than two or three art works, that’s a danger sign; so is an ambition to engage deeply with more than two theoretical texts, or a historical sweep covering decades or centuries (a comparison between two eras, on the other hand, could work in this format if handled carefully). This piece of writing is concentrated and, as it is a dry run for your final essay’s opening, important.
N.B. Remember our in-class discussions about opening with a lede, being concise without eliminating decription, and the Flaubertian practice of gueuloir [you don’t need to speak French to try this technique out!]
Length: Draft intro — 600 words; annotated bibliography — at least 5 different sources, 500 words. TOTAL 1100 words.
Include completed peer-edit sheet.
Instructor:
Subject:
Date:
Yayoi Kusama
Yayoi Kusama is an obsessional Japanese artist known for her infinity mirror installation and for extensively using polka dots as a style for her artwork. As an artist, her work incorporates performance arts, painting, sculpture, and structures of various types, including Minimalism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Art Brut, and Surrealism. Her inspiration comes from American abstract impressionism. In this regard, her work explored the psychological and physical aspects of painting, whereby the repetitive incorporation of polka dots creates a hypnotic emotional stir for the viewer. Yayoi later became a massive figure in New York's avant-garde, showcasing her work alongside that of significant artists such as Donald Judd, Andy Warhol, and Claes Oldenburg. She has been a subject of substantial art exhibitions at the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, Center Pompidou, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and Tate Modern. This write-up will explore how Yoyois's artistic works affect the viewer psychologically and how it links with various accomplishments in her creative journey.
Yayoi grew up in Matsumoto, where she attended the Kyoto University of Arts and learned about Nihonga, a Japanese painting style. She began painting as a child when she started experiencing hallucinations that involved traces of dots which continued to inform her throughout her career. Her aspiration to become an artist and family conflict drove her out of Japan to America. Her work included infinity net paintings of thousands of marks repeated across the large canvas as though they were infinite. The ultimate aim of her paintings is to attract people to the world they live in. In this regard, Yoyois's theme of infinite representation and self-obliteration attempts to represent what she believed to be her alternate reality.
For instance, No. F one of her first works looks monochromatic and delicate, but when viewed with focused attention, the complexity of the canvas becomes clear. In this case, the arched shapes moved in one direction, creating an infinite net that seemed to exceed if not for the extremity of the piece. The endless repetition causes the viewer an empty, hypnotic, dizzy feeling, further translated by the viewer's psyche. In 1960, Yayoi began her Infinity Mirror Room series, whereby each room consisted of a dark chamber-like space lined with mirrors. Unlike Yayoi's work incorporating pumpkins, lanterns, and phalluses, her current work included a polka dot pattern made from colored bulb lights that flicker rhythmically. The mirrors reflect the light in the ultimate room, creating an infinite illusion of infinite stretch. The artwork represents the aspects of life and death. It encourages the viewers to contemplate their existence by emphasizing their interconnectedness with the universe. The artist explains that she wanted to show the cosmic image beyond the usual world perception by using light.
Yoyois's early work went beyond symbolizing her mental state of obsessive-compulsive disorder, where she had illusions that the polka dots and nets covered the World. In contrast, her work influenced the Pop Art movement characterized by repetitive images and featuring household objects to explore mass production and consumerism. Her works inspired Claes Oldenburg, whereby in 1962, he began mimicking them and promoting feminism. Her work obliteration Room, initially seen as a work of children, features a white room that is turned colorful by the application of hued dots by visitors, indicating the expression of suppressed feelings and unseen violence. On the other hand, the artist considers herself a lone wolf because she does not associate her work with any movement or institution. She inspires artists to find and define themselves and express their unique nature in their work. Yoyois's artwork excels in the invention, expression, and grace, making it sublime.
Annotated Bibliography
Kant, Immanue...