Project Two – The revival of craft and the hand-made – Craft

Yayoi Kusama

What is their craft and how do they approach it in their work?

Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist, who works with sculptures and installations, along with painting, textiles, and other art forms. She was inspired by abstract impressionism. Because at a young age she was forced to spy on her fathers womanising, she was traumatised and feared sex, as well as became obsessed with it. This caused some mental health issues and which she has accepted is part of who she is. Having this condition may have allowed her the freedom in which to express herself through art forms. She started hallucinating at the early age of ten and the fascination began with what she saw in her hallucinations to what naturally surrounded her, pebbles became dots, flashing lights became infinity.

yayoi-kusama-vm-0110b — INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM -MY HEART IS DANCING INTO THE UNIVERSE, 2018
Courtesy Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/Singapore/Shanghai and Victoria Miro, London/Venice. © YAYOI KUSAMA

Do they adhere to the ideas of Slow Design? To what extent does this allow them to take risks, experiment and innovate?

Kusama, has a slow design connection, as she continues to search for the connection between reality and the real world, showing herself as she really is. She had a goal and that was to make a name for herself and show the world her passion for art. The synergy between her pumpkins as a past connection to her life on the farm, a happy time, but abstracted through her mindful techniques. She was increasingly obsessed in her method and would lose herself in her work. When she first started her work in New York, it was dominated by men, she became absorbed in her work and hallucinations taking over and drawing her into another realm. She brought her world to life through experimenting with her imagination, she took away your focal point, so there was no boundaries or space, it all ran into each other. Filling your senses so that you became part of it.

Is their story or the story of their work important? Why?

Kusama’s story is invigorating to the point that it allows a person to become involved and enveloped in the art, being able to be a part of what her hallucinations are and how it feels in the mind of someone who has a mental health condition. The obsessions with fear and phalluses, polka dots and pumpkins are all the main themes of her work. She is an inspiration to many I feel that even though you may live with a mental health condition, you can truly share your thoughts without feeling inadequate or ashamed. She grasps hold of her true self and shares it with us in her art. Her synopsis of how the universe is purely an accumulation of stars with no end, it’s how she sees the natural world around her, there is no end, it is all around everywhere, part of us. She manages her trauma and stress through her art, it is her routine to live.

1271953 — Kusama with Pumpkin (2010)Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai; Victoria Miro, London; David Zwirner, New York

Do you value ‘craft’ and craftsmanship? Why or why not?

What is craft?

an activity involving skill in making things by hand. “the craft of cobbling”

What is craftsmanship?

skill in a particular craft. “I admire his engineering skills and craftsmanship”

There is more value in a craft, a skill of sorts, as, without this ability, we would have nothing to create. The art of craftsmanship is also valued, the act of doing and creating. Kusama has a craft, an ability to imagine what she sees, her craftmanship is in being able to paint and create what she sees. Truly something of value.

Is there room for craft in modern society?

I think if we did to have a craft, we would not venture forward and create or invent something new. We would not seek the impossible or test the untestable, we would be locked in a revolving circle of continuance forever repeating the same routine. We need crafts, we need the ability to create, through whatever means possible.