Kusama Yayoi's "A Dream I Dreamed" Tour Comes to Kaohsiung／夢我所夢：草間彌生亞洲巡迴展 台灣站
Kusama Yayoi's "A Dream I Dreamed" Tour Comes to Kaohsiung
◎English translation: Peng Hsin-yi
Japanese-born, Kusama Yayoi takes everyday items such as polka dots and pumpkins and turns them into unforgettable artistic masterpieces. One of the most internationally renowned visual-artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, Ms. Kusama is unique in style and originality. An absolute giant in the artistic world, the 86-year-old is truly a historic artist. She is one of the few artists of her time who is recognized for various forms of artistic expression which include paintings, multi-dimensional work, performance art, installation art, literature and even fashion. Furthermore, she is still exploring different styles to present her ideas. "Her endless creativity is simply amazing", says Ms. Pei-ni Beatrice Hsieh, Director of the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts.
It is with much anticipation that Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts proudly presents Ms. Kusama's "A Dream I Dreamed" from February 7th to May 17th as part of her Asian tour. The 2015 show represents a 60 year journey of creativity and features near 120 pieces of Ms. Kusama's work. Ms. Kusama's installments link her creative work with hallucinations she experienced as a young child. She used to see dots and patterns everywhere and on everything. As she began to draw the round dots, it became a process of self-healing, transforming her into a legend in the artistic world. She admits that it was this outlet that has kept her alive for so many years. Her installments exemplify how she submerges herself into her work as a sort of self-preservation.
Her masterpieces seem to reveal a secret language of polka dots, with a signature style that includes round dots and eyelet patterns. In her "INFINITY NETS& DOTS" series, she has produced oil-paintings of layered and repetitive circular shapes that are connected and weaved into a visual phenomenon. The round shapes are presented in various sizes and patterns that grow from two dimensional prints into three dimensional spheres, producing a unique rhythm. Her stainless steel series features highly polished stainless steel balls with a mirror-like surface, capturing its surrounding environment in a spherical reflection. Observers who stop to ponder this piece invariably interact with it and become an integral part of the reflection.
The installment begins with the audience walking through a dark hall, luring them into Ms. Kusama's world. They enter a softly lit living space, with its walls and ceiling dotted with small neon stickers, creating a dream-like atmosphere. They are then led to the "INFINITY NETS& DOTS" paintings, the "Moment of Regeneration" sculptures, the "Infinity Mirrored Room", the "Pumpkin" installation, Asian tour exclusive "With All My Love for the Tulips, I Pray Forever" installment and her latest painting collection, "MY ETERNAL SOUL".
The installation entitled "Narcissus Garden" includes stainless steel spheres which are mounted partially indoors and partially outside. As the audience stops to look at the stainless steel spheres, they are able to see themselves in the spherical mirror's reflection. The outside part of the installation on the other hand, reflects coconut trees that loom over them, capturing part of Kaohsiung's landscape.
Although she is indeed exceptionally accomplished, Ms. Kusama never stops seeking new inspiration and capturing new interpretations of the world around her. She consistently awes her audience. We sincerely welcome you to visit the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts to see Kasuma Yayoi's work in person, feeling her message about passion for life that she delivers through her work.
夢我所夢：草間彌生亞洲巡迴展 台灣站
◎文／侯雅婷
只消驚鴻一瞥，日籍藝術巨匠草間彌生的大南瓜和充滿韻律的圓點，就會刻印在腦海中。也許波卡圓點從來就不是太陽底下的新鮮事，但草間的圓點彷彿有著不凡的魅力，大小不一的圓點，變化著富韻律感的間距，由平面延伸到立體；或當圓點化為一顆顆不鏽鋼球，在不同的空間與周遭的景物相映成趣，佇立作品前的觀眾端詳作品之際，也成為圓點風景的一部份，饒富趣味的交流。
千呼萬喚，高雄市立美術館在今(2015)年2月，迎來了《夢我所夢：草間彌生亞洲巡迴展台灣站》特展。館長謝佩霓表示，現年86歲的草間彌生是橫跨20至21世紀知名度最高的女性藝術家，她跨領域的藝術成就涵蓋平面繪畫、立體作品、行為藝術、空間裝置、文學乃至時尚等範疇，讓人望其項背。草間鮮明的創作風格、作品的原創性和代表性，確立她在藝術史上無可取代的地位，而她至今仍持續開創新的創作風格，旺盛的創作力令人驚嘆。
草間的創作動力源於她自幼年時就為幻覺所擾，她看到許多揮之不去的點點，於是藉著畫下這些圓點，自我療癒，反倒成就她在藝術上的一頁傳奇；她曾談起，如果不是因為創作，可能早就走向自殺一途了。草間代表性的表現手法包括圓點和網眼，例如在〈無盡的網〉一系列作品，她反覆堆疊一圈圈油彩，直到像織品般交織連結，彷彿讓自己淹沒其中，這樣的「自我消融」成為草間的自我保護。
高美館展出近120件展品，呈現草間跨度60年的創作軌跡。展場起點由黑暗進入闇黑的居家空間，整個空間佈滿螢光圓點，發出微弱光暈，像夢一樣的情境領著參觀者進入草間的世界。展出作品包括《無限的網》系列畫作、軟雕塑〈再生時刻〉、鏡屋、南瓜等，還有專為亞洲巡迴展創作的裝置作品〈為摯愛的鬱金香永恆祈禱〉等，以及近期最新繪畫〈我的永恆靈魂〉系列。
而〈自戀庭園〉作品的不鏽鋼球倚著高美館落地窗一隅，望出去，巧妙連結戶外庭園的不鏽鋼球；室內的不鏽鋼球靜待好奇的觀眾趨前一探，倒影在有如鏡面的不鏽鋼球上，室外的不鏽鋼球則映上上頭的椰子樹，是高雄限定的在地風情。
草間追尋創作的腳步未曾停歇，總有新意演繹創作，帶給觀眾新穎的感受。5月17日前歡迎您前來高雄市立美術館，佇立在草間彌生作品前，感受草間用生命的熱情傳遞的創意和驚奇。