How the artwork “The flower that bloom in midnight” by Yayoi Kusama is influenced by colour field, surrealism, and pop art from the Modernist period.

The flowers that bloom at midnight,2009.

YAYOI KUSAMA

Flowers That Bloom at Midnight M1, 2009

Fiberglass-reinforced plastic, metal and all-weather urethane paint

85 7/8 x 71 1/4 x 116 1/8 inches (218 x 181 x 295 cm)

The artwork “the  flowers that bloom at midnight”(2009) was a set of seven pieces non-naturalistic looking exuberant flowers sculpture in large scales, which measure from four to sixteen feet high. Cast in highly durable fiberglass-reinforced plastic and metal, all hand painted in bold opaque subtractive colours with Kusama’s signature polka dot, which she calls "infinity nets", all over each piece. Arranged in the gallery like an artificial garden, the flowers tower and sprawl about in their psychedelic glory, offering the viewer multiple vantages while reaching outward into the surrounding space in all directions.

“The artist Yayoi Kusama has experienced hallucinations and severe obsessive thought since childhood, often a suicidal nature.”(Wikipedia) In my point of view, her polka dots obsession is a way to relieve her suicidal nature,Kusama is often quoted as saying: "If it were not for art, I would have killed myself a long time ago,"(Art Review) also she believe the polka dot is her source of energy as she quoted “A polka-dot has the form of the sun, which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm. Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. Polka-dots become movement… Polka dots are a way to infinity.”(Kusama)- she started to begin covering surface (walls, floors, canvases, and later, household objects and naked assistants) with the polka dots that would become a trademark of her work.The vast fields of polka dots, or “infinity nets”, as she call them, were taken directly from her hallucinations, which influenced by surrealism, a movement was founded in Paris, in 1924. “Surrealism was closely related to Dada, its principal source; each of which was conceived as a revolutionary mode of thought and action - a way of life rather than a set of stylistic attitudes. The central idea of the movement was to release the creative powers of the unconscious mind.” (Chilvers,2003) “Surrealism dedicated to expressing the imagination as revealed in dreams, free of the conscious control of reason and convention.”  As you can see the photo above, the sculpture that cover with polka dots and the twisty non-naturalistic looking flowers, would be a reflection of Kusama’s subconscious, her dreams and her hallucinations. Also, each piece or the whole set of artwork can be arranged differently (It is a random arrangement which is not based on any definite plan.) (see the small photo above) every time where it is exhibited, the artist recreated the whole structure of the artwork. It aimed to create art which was ‘automatic’, meaning that it had emerged directly from the unconscious without shaped by reason, morality or aesthetic judgement.

The artwork that cover in flat opaque subtractive colours and polka dots, I also consider had influenced by colour field painting. “A type of abstract painting in which the whole picture or surface consist of large expanses of more or less unmodulated colour, with no strong contrasts of tone or obvious focus of attention” (Chilvers,2003) Look at the color of the artwork, it had been painted in only two flat colours in each surface with no highlight or tone involved. “This type of painting developed in the US in the late 1940s and early 1950s, leading pioneers including Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko” (Chilvers,2003),whom Kusama’s work has been compared to. It is thus an aspect of Abstract Expressionism and it has been seen as a type -- or precursor -- of minimal art.

The other art movement that influenced the artwork or the artist herself, was pop art. “A movement based on the imagery of consumerism and popular culture (hence “pop'”), flourishing from the late 1950s to the early 1970s, chiefly in the US and Britain. The term was coined 1955. Comic books, advertisements, packaging, and images from television and the cinema were all part of the iconography of the movement.” (Chilvers,2003) Kusama was living in New York in the late 60s, actively involved in lot of art movement such as minimalism, feminism, surrealism, abstract expressionism, conceptual art and pop art, during that period she embraced by some of the leading pop artist such as Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol. She had recognized herself as a pop artist in one of the magazine interview “I was in the vanguard of Pop Art, and regarded as a Pop artist by the people around me. I felt that America’s energy was trying to change its history. I was part of the movement.”(BOMB) 

Refer the artwork, there contain certain elements of pop art. First, the colours of use, Kusama used fair amount of primary colours(Red, yellow, blue) which is very common to found in comic or billboard like pop art and a combination of analogous colours, such as blue and green; lime green and yellow -- These colors sit next to one another on the color wheel and are in harmony with one another. The primary and analogous colours created a harmony and cheerful atmosphere for the art work. Also each piece -- the non-naturalistic flowers, had very curvy  shape thats giving a adorable (cutie), child - like feel to the entire work, which may influenced from the Japanese comic style - Manga. In the last two decade, Kusama’s works became very popular, especially in Japanese. Kusama herself turns into a pop culture icon, since then she started making her artwork into all sort of merchandise. (see pictures next) That’s what pop art is all about -- mass-production and popular culture.

Yayoi Kusama is without doubt Japan’s most famous and premiere artist of the modern era.  She is currently the second highest living female artist at auction and the most expensive and coveted female Asian artist. Her unique work had inspired lot of artist and had a huge affect in modern art history.

For me, Kusama is a great example of “nothing is important”, her childhood and her mental illness did not stop her determined to be an artist. It really encourage me to keep on what I’m doing, following my dream no matter how.

ArtReview magazine, October issue, 2007.
http://www.artreview.com

Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yayoi_Kusama#cite_note-4

CHILVERS, I. 2003. The concise Oxford dictionary of art and artists, Oxford ; New York, Oxford University Press.

KUSAMA,Y. 1978. Manhattan jisatsu misui joshuhan (Manhattan Suicide Addict), Kosakusha, Tokyo,(extract) reproduced in Hoptman et al., p.124.

BOMB Magazine, issue 66,1999. Interview by Grady Turner.