is a Japanese artist who is sometimes called ‘The Princess of Polka Dots'. Although she makes lots of different types of art – paintings, sculptures, performances and installations – they have one thing in common, DOTS! • Yayoi Kusama is considered one of most important contemporary artists. • is the art of today. It is produced by artists who are living in the twenty- first century. • Contemporary art gives us an opportunity to reflect on: • Our daily lives • Current issues • The world around us Can You find Japan on the map? Yayoi Kusama was born on March 22, 1929. She is 90 years old and still making art.

She is from Matsumoto, in Japan.

Can you find Matsumoto on the map? • When Yayoi was a young girl she started to have visions. She would see things that were not there and no one else could see. • When Yayoi was ten, she started to draw using polka dots and repeated shapes. • She would draw and paint what she saw in her visions. By looking at Yayoi’s art we get a glimpse of how she sees the world around her. This is a drawing that Kusama did of her mother when she was 10 years old.

Yayoi Kusama, 1939, Pencil on paper New York • In the late 1950s Kusama moved to New York . • She painted day and night. She spent all her money on paints and supplies so she could continue to create her art. • She had the first of many exhibitions there in 1959. Infinity Mirrors

• Kusama created rooms with mirrored walls, floors and ceilings that you can walk into. • When you walk inside the mirrored room you become part of the artwork. You see an infinite number of your own reflections along with the art that is placed in the room. She also made infinity boxes that you can look into and see infinite amount of dots, spheres, and lights.

Obliteration Rooms • This is a type of interactive art. • Everything in the room is painted white. • People are given dots and can put them anywhere in the exhibit. “Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos. Polka dots are a way to infinity. When we obliterate nature and our bodies with polka dots, we become part of the unity of our environment.” By Yayoi Kusama

Common themes in Kusama’s Art

Pumpkins and polka dots Different sized polka dots grouped together like pebbles on a path

Infinity nets made with triangle Infinity nets made with repeating loops and quadrilateral shapes Common themes in Kusama’s Art

Self portraits with polka dots and infinity nets Common themes in Kusama’s Art

Flowers with polka dots and Repeated shapes filled with polka dots infinity net backgrounds Supplies you will need for this activity:

• Markers • 4x6 inch paper • Clear tape • 3 tea lights • Mirror box How to draw a Kusama style pumpkin. How to use infinity nets and polka dots to create your own unique images.

1. Color your background 2. Make repeated semicircle 3. Fill the whole page. loops that connect with each other to form a net.

1. Divide your paper up 2. Color your background 3. Fill in the open spaces with using wavy lines. polka dots and geometric shapes. Once your images are finished, your teacher will show you how to turn them into a lantern and place them in the infinity mirror box.