Title: Soul under the Moon
Artist: Yayoi Kusama
Date: 2002
Written Response:
Yayoi Kusama is a unique artist. She suffers from “depersonalization syndrome” which studies claim make the person feel like an alien. Yayoi feels as if she doesn’t belong on earth and she sees things as different and somewhat distorted. This syndrome is most likely what affects her artwork. Yayoi’s artwork always includes the use of polka dots. She often uses them in different sizes to help demonstrate how different the things we see are from the things she sees. She also likes to compare the round shape of the dots to things in nature, such as the sun or the moon. Her uniqueness and creativity has proved to be much respected because she’s had many successful exhibitions in Los Angeles.
The image used in this critique is a very interesting one. It wasn’t created so long ago that people don’t understand it, but there is no historical significance in it. Yayoi simply decided to hang different coloured balls in a mirrored room. Seems simple enough, but it’s the way she arranged everything and then the angle she took the picture which makes it interesting.
When I first saw the image, my eyes were bouncing all around. The bright colours just popped and I started looking at everything because just about everything caught my attention. That is the reason why I chose it. The image is such an attention grabber that amongst the whole gallery of her artwork, this one was the only one I could look at. At first glance, I thought it was just a painting, but it’s actually a photograph. The photo seems so unrealistic and intriguing, making it all the more amazing.
Looking at the image, there seem to be nothing more than colourful circles in a dark space with blue bars on the top and bottom. It isn’t much of a view, but the way the green, orange, and red contrast with the background make it seem like something to pay more attention to. The contrasting colours of bright against dark make the little circles more dominant or emphasized. There is also a radial balance in the image. In the center if the image, the balls seems to fade away into a distance. From the viewer’s point of view, it could be like the balls are flying out of that center, and revolving around it. This outward shooting of the objects creates a balance, where the vortex is the center. The image can also be the movement principle because the viewer’s attention starts off at the bigger balls that are closer, and leads towards the center where the smaller balls are. The movement can also relate to the element of lines because it seems as if there is a line showing the path in which the balls are going towards. There is space between the viewer and the vortex all shown with the gradual decrease in sizes. The hues used in the image are orange, blue-violet, green, and red. The pigment black is shown in the background, making a dark value.
I think the artists choice in the Styrofoam balls and the mirror room make the image more appealing and makes the viewer wonder how many actual balls and which ones are just reflections. To know this you would need to know the size of the room as well, but that is difficult to tell because of the darkness.
The theme of the artwork is supposed to show the other-worldly images Yayoi sees due to her ailment. Since everything to her is alien-like, her art shows a unique side of things. The image seems as if it is space, with many little planets, or colourful stars. I think the work was created to allow us to better understand Yayoi’s point o f view on the world. When we look at space, we see little sparkles of light in the sky. When she looks in space, she sees dots of different sizes and colours.
After research, I found that Yayoi made the art for no exact reason. She just had an idea to create such an artwork because of her views. She believes that art should be shared because of feeling or viewpoints, not for the money or the fame. She created this for her views to be seen, just like a child would draw a picture of a sad face when they are upset. I don’t feel any different knowing of her intent because my assumption was exactly what the art was for. I don’t see it any differently from the way I saw it before because since the beginning, I clearly understood the reason for her artwork and why she created such different pieces of work.
I learned from this art that it doesn’t matter what the purpose art is for (ex. School project) what matters is that my view is shared amongst people, and they understand why I did things a certain way. It doesn’t matter of only a few people understand it. Art is made to be interpreted through imagination, but if at least one person understands, then I believe I did well.
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