Cosmic Nature, Kusama’s Creative take on the Natural
Known as New York’s living museum, the New York Botanical Garden is home to over one million plant species beautifully arranged in 50 curated gardens and collections. Established in 1891, the Garden serves to educate the public on the importance of plant conservation in New York and beyond. The Garden is located in the Bronx, and its 250 acres comprise the Bronx River, natural forest, and rocky terrains. In recent years, NYBG has worked with world-renowned artists to showcase the “inextricable links between plants and people” through art (Mission and Overview, NYBG).
Since the 2017 Chihuly exhibit, I have tried to go each year to enjoy these thought-provoking pieces. This year, Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama whimsically captured the give and take of energy within nature, or as she calls it, “Cosmic Nature.” I am still awestruck at how unique the experience was and how Kusama was able to represent nature in a colorful and, at times, delicate way. Following over a year of quarantine and what can only be described as pandemic anxiety, myself and, I assume, many New Yorkers yearned for the chance to escape in nature. So it was an easy decision to write about Cosmic Nature and visit the charming Fall foliage of NYBG.
Kusama uses a pop art style in her work and frequently uses polka dots. She also creates stunning infinity room exhibits that have gone viral worldwide through Instagram. The art in the NYBG certainly reflected her style. Giant brightly colored polka-dotted flowers juxtaposed huge ferns and real flowers to create a new fantastical world. Having never been a pop art fan, I was skeptical, but after experiencing Kusama’s work in person, it was much easier to understand her motivation. Her pieces invoked emotions that flowed through everyone in the room. The art created shared energy between the natural, the fantastical, and the human. As Diego Rodriguez alludes to in his piece, “Experience the world instead of talking about experiencing the world,” seeing art in photographs can not compare to experiencing art in person. Since Instagram propelled Kusama’s recent fame, this is ironic, when her art was meant to be experienced, not seen.
Kusama grew up in Japan, then later moved to New York City in 1958. The 27-year-old struggled as an artist, only later to gain notoriety in the pop art world alongside Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg. Art is Kusama’s way of life, “I decided that all I could do was express my thoughts through my art and that I would continue to do this until I died, even if no one was ever to see my work” (Adams, 2018). In this class, we have talked about creativity and methods to foster creativity in our work, such as seeking out new perspectives. In corporate speak, it is easy to dismiss creativity as simply thinking “outside of the box”. However, after examining the work and life of Kusama, I am reminded that the vessel of creativity is confidence. Confidence to be yourself, express yourself, and fight for yourself. It is essential to understand that with creativity, there will be judgment, and sometimes your ideas will not always be sustainable, but everyone should be brave enough to put them out there in the first place. Perhaps art like Kusama’s is there to inspire us in that way.
Kusama is now 89 years old, and this could possibly be one of her last large exhibits. As a child, she sketched in her garden, and the pumpkins that show up in her work were inspired by the first pumpkin she saw with her grandfather. So it is fitting that her art has returned to nature. I love the melding of unnatural and natural. Some of my favorite pieces were the enormous trees wrapped with bright red polka-dotted cloth and metallic orbs in the lake that moved with the currents. By incorporating beautiful art, like Kusama’s, throughout the garden, NYBG will continue to attract visitors to admire these compelling images and reimagine nature.
Sources:
Adams, Tim. “Yayoi Kusama: The World’s Favourite Artist?” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 23 Sept. 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/sep/23/yayoi-kusama-infinity-film-victoria-miro-exhibition.
“Mission and Overview”, New York Botanical Garden. New York Botanical Garden, 20 Apr. 2021, https://www.nybg.org/about/mission-and-overview/.
