Kusama's 'Dots Obsession' at Rice University.

by Marene Gustin

Webster's New World Dictionary defines an obsession as something that haunts or troubles the mind. Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama's "Dots Obsession," now on view at the Rice University Art Gallery in Houston, Texas, is both playful and troubling; it reveals aspects of this artist's work which have gone hand-in-hand with her rise and fall and subsequent rise again in the world of contemporary art.

"I can't even really convey what a smashing success it is," says gallery director Kimberly Davenport. "We had 162 visitors yesterday." That's quite a number for the small gallery, where on a sunny day the light sends polka dots of its own through branches onto the concrete courtyard leading to the gallery entrance. Inside the dot effect and artificial colors become overwhelming. Everything is taxi cab-yellow with big black polka dots; the walls, floor and ceiling -- and stuffed into the room like giant bloated gourds are four latex balloons swelling from floor to ceiling. They are also neon canary with, of course, black polka dots. "The appeal to children is extraordinary," says Davenport. Even for adults the whimsy is unmistakable, but these dots have a darker side as well.

Visitors to the gallery are encouraged to sign a book, recording their thoughts (which will be sent to the 68-year-old artist). Entries such as "fun," "colorful and playful" abound but mixed in are the occasional one-word remarks like "claustrophobic." The giant rubber balloons are placed so that visitors must squeeze between them to navigate the exhibit. Even the overhead lights are covered in yellow film. The result is that the visitor becomes part of the exhibit, being lost or swallowed into the pattern -- which seems never ending. The balloons -- up to twenty feet in length -- are based on vegetative shapes, particularly gourds (Kusama also has an affection for pumpkins). When the room is near empty and the air conditioner vents swoosh quietly to life, they sway ever so gently, becoming more fauna than flora -- reminiscent, in some bizarre polka dot way, of those giant stuffed whales at natural history museums.

And that is Kusama's gift, born of madness and honed by self promotion. She was a child of the changing Japanese culture during and after World War II. Born of a wealthy family she defied tradition to become independent and pursue her art. But even in early life her mental illness dictated her work, the compulsive-obsessive disorder inhibiting her early repetitious "net" paintings and then springing full-blown into her dot obsession. She is a fascinating case study: her celebrity rivaled that of Andy Warhol's in New York City in the late 60s -- but since 1977, she has lived full-time at the Seiwa Hospital in Tokyo. After an amazing success in America, she disappeared from the art scene here until just recently. Two major shows in New York last year preceded the original installation of Dots Obsession (at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh) earlier this year, and a major retrospective of her work will be held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1998.

This is the first time her work has been shown in Houston, but for those drawn to her style and to her neurotically appealing life, the Joseph Cornell exhibit concurrently running at The Menil Collection (through the end of the year) should also be of interest. From about 1965 to his death in 1972, Cornell was Kusama's romantic love. Both struggled with mental illness and used it in their art (Kusama's polka dot obsession began in the 60s generated from a hallucination) and Kusama's dislike of sex matched Cornell's impotence, making their relationship physically safe as well as intellectually compatible. They would talk on the phone or write letters to each other as often as 14 times a day.

But Kusama has yet another side. Critics have accused her of being self-promoting and obsessed with fame. During her New York years she generated copious amounts of personal press releases and moved into the venue of performance art, often covering herself and others with polka dots. She was also very outspoken, very political, and very prolific. She went from painting to sculpture to installation art; from "happenings" to film to fashion. This attribute for attention might also be traced to her mental illness.

It wasn't until Cornell's death, followed by the death of her father, that she began to withdraw from the spotlight. With the recent interest in her work, she has ventured from the mental hospital in Japan for a brief trip to America. She also designed a signed polka dot T-shirt, which is on sale at the Rice exhibit. But whether she is a profound artist, a self-aggrandizing fame seeker ,or simply a lost soul gripped by mental illness is best left to future art historians. The affect of her "Dots Obsession" on visitors, like life itself, lies somewhere in the middle.

Yayoi Kusama's "Dots Obsession" was exhbited at the Rice University Art Gallery in 1997. FREE Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Thursday until 8 p.m.) Sundays noon to 5 p.m. For information call 713-527-6069 or visit https://www.rice.edu/ruag

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