超越畫布之外 — 環境雕塑家草間彌生

「我筆下的網不僅超越自己，更超越畫布本身。這些網一直延伸至牆壁、天花，最終覆蓋整個宇宙。」 — 草間彌生

被譽為是日本現存國寶級藝術家的草間彌生，1957年前往美國紐約，開始從事前衛的藝術創作，曾與西方當代重要的藝術家，包括克來茵、瓊斯與歐登柏格、安迪．沃荷一起聯展，活躍於國際藝壇，並一度引領當時盛行的普普藝術風潮。1993年，草間彌生成為第一位單獨代表日本參加威尼斯雙年展的女性藝術家，自此草間彌生在日本及西方國際藝壇的地位得以確立。

草間彌生在90年代末著手創作雕塑，並將自己定位為雕塑家多於畫家，2000年她開始創作大型公共戶外雕塑，其中包括2002年創作日本長野縣松本市美術館的《幻之華》、2003年日本新潟松代町的《妻有花開》、2007年美國比佛利山莊的《生命讚歌：鬱金香》「花卉」一直是草間彌生重要的創作題材之一，它們象徵了生命的綻放與凋零，慶祝與哀悼，陽剛與陰柔，以有機、脆弱、繁殖的生命型態，無止盡地纏繞、盤踞整個畫布與藝術家創造的奇幻世界。草間彌生曾在她的自傳中提到：「大自然、宇宙、人類、血、花，還有各式各樣森羅萬象的事物，自從我懂事以來，它們便以神奇、恐懼或者是神秘的方式，在我的視覺、聽覺，還有內心深處留下深刻的印象。它們牢牢糾纏住我的生命，不放我離開。」

「有一天，當我還小的時候，我身處突然出現的人形花卉之中，發覺自己全身發抖，感到恐懼。我被花園裡數百朵紫羅蘭包圍。那些紫羅蘭長有奇怪表情，像人一樣互相聊天。我與它們進行心靈對話後，開始迷戀它們，不能自拔地陷入幻想中的絢麗意境，脫離這個世界。」（引自草間彌生，〈自我靈魂的掙扎與遊盪〉，《草間彌生》展覽圖錄，費頓出版社，1975，頁118）

畫布以外，草間彌生亦以立體進行創作，她把畫布上的主題呈現在感官所能觸及的真實空間，提供多一層次的視覺刺激。其色彩斑斕的雕塑釋放著強韌的生命力《花 - 綻放在午夜》創作於2009年，充滿生命力的花朵為草間彌生大型雕塑之一，質感細膩且色彩豐富。縱向的葉子外伸展，綻放的花朵似是天真爛漫，頭狀花蕊則換上一隻大眼睛，別具感染力且極具震撼力。草間彌生造了一個引人入勝的空間和意境，透視著藝術家夢幻般的精神世界，幻化成他最目眩神迷、最受世人矚目的精彩創作。


Beyond the Canvas — Environmental Sculptor Yayoi Kusama

"The net under my brush transcends not only myself, but also the canvas itself. These nets extend to the walls and ceilings, and eventually cover the entire universe." — Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama, who is generally recognized to be one of Japan’s greatest living artists, began to create avant–garde art after moving to New York in 1957. She held joint exhibitions with leading Western artists of the day such as Yves Klein, Jasper Johns, Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol, and became a prominent figure on the international art scene, playing an important role in the growth of the Pop Art movement. In 1993, Kusama became the first female Japanese artist to represent Japan at the Venice Biennale, firmly establishing her status as a major figure in the art world both in the West and in Japan.

Yayoi Kusama set out to create sculptures in the late 1990s and positioned herself as a sculptor more than a painter. In 2000, she began to create large-scale public outdoor sculptures, including “The Visionary Flowers” in Matsumoto City Art Museum, Nagano Prefecture, Japan in 2002, “Tsumari in Bloom” in Matsushiro-cho, Niigata, Japan in 2003, and “Hymn of Life: Tulips” in Beverly Hills, USA in 2007. Flowers have always been one of Kusama’s favored themes. They symbolize the flowering and withering of life, celebration and grief, hardness and softness. These fragile, organic, bountiful life– forms sprawl all over the paintings, dominating both the canvas and the fantastical world that the artist is seeking to create. In her autobiography, Yayoi Kusama noted that: “ever since she was a child, nature, the universe, humanity, blood, flowers and all sort of other things have left deep impressions – in a magical, terrifying or mysterious way – on her visual and auditory perception and on her heart. She said that they had entwined themselves around her life, never letting her escape.”

“One day, when I was a little girl, I found myself trembling, all over my body, with fear, amid flowers incarnate, which had appeared all of a sudden. I was surrounded by hundreds of violets in a flower garden. The violets, with uncanny expressions, were chatting among themselves like human beings. No sooner had they and I had spiritual dialogues than I became infatuated with them, drawn into glitter of illusion, away from this world” (Kusama Yayoi, “The Struggle and Wandering of My Soul”, 1975, in exh. cat. Yayoi Kusama, Phaidon, p. 118).

In addition to the canvas, Yayoi Kusama also engages in three dimensions creation. Through exhibiting her theme originally on canvas, the actual space that can be touched by all senses, providing an extra level of visual stimulation. “Flowers - That Bloom at Midnight” created in 2009, which multicolored releases a strong sense of vitality. This vibrant flower is one of the large scale sculptures of Kusama, with delicate texture and abundant colors. The longitudinal leaves stretch out, the blooming flower looks innocent and the stamen is replaced with a large eye, that is so infectious and powerful. Kusama creates a fascinating space and artistic conception, which sees through her dreamlike spiritual world, that in turn transforms into her most dazzling and wonderful creation.