Yayoi

Yayoi Kusama is one of those artists who is both deserving of their commercial success and seemingly unimpacted by it. According to artnet, she is the 3rd most expensive living female artist, and compared to other millionaire makers who produce pop-y, market friendly work, like Jeff Koons and Anish Kapoor, she is actually somewhat interesting.


The most inspiring thing to me about Kusama is the way, or rather the amount, that she works. At 92, she still goes into the studio everyday and makes art with her own hands. At her level of success, she could work exclusively with an army of assistants and basically license out her aesthetic -- but she has not done that, because she is obsessed with material and pattern and form and color, not making fucking money. I want to be like her. I want to die at 95 with a camera in my hand and $7 in my bank account. I want to be so fucking worked up over making the world look weird that it gets in the way of my everyday life.



        Adams, Tim. “Yayoi Kusama: The World’s Favourite Artist?” The Observer, September 23, 2018, sec. Art and design. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/sep/23/yayoi-kusama-infinity-film-victoria-miro-exhibition.​

        Chow, Andrew R. “Yayoi Kusama’s ‘Narcissus Garden’ Is Coming to the Rockaways.” The New York Times, June 18, 2018, sec. Arts. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/18/arts/design/yayoi-kusama-narcissus-garden-rockaways.html.​

        Kusama Is Not All Selfies and Mirrors. “Kusama Is Not All Selfies and Mirrors.” Accessed February 28, 2022. http://lacmaonfire.blogspot.com/2017/10/yayoi-kusama-is-not-all-selfies-and.html.​

        Kusama, Yayoi. Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama. Chicago ; London: The University of Chicago Press, 2011.​

        Namba, Sachiko. Yokohama 2001: International Triennale of Contemporary Art. Vol. 250, 2001.​

        Tate. “An Introduction to Yayoi Kusama – Look Closer.” Tate. Accessed February 21, 2022. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/yayoi-kusama-8094/introduction-yayoi-kusama.​

        “Yayoi Kusama - Artworks & Biography | David Zwirner.” Accessed February 28, 2022. https://www.davidzwirner.com/artists/yayoi-kusama.​

        Yayoi Kusama – Obsessed with Polka Dots | Tate. Accessed February 21, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRZR3nsiIeA.​ 

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