Synopsis:
The world lost one of the most creative and successful artists in August this year.
Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama passed away after over six decades of working as an artist, creating artworks that span the genres of painting, sculpture, installation art, happening and performance, video art, poetry, and novels. Best known as the “Queen of Polka Dots”, her works allure to both microscopic and macroscopic universes, transcending everyday realities into experiences that resemble psychedelic hallucinations. In 1965, Kusama pioneered the creation of the Infinity Mirror Rooms, which remain unmissable installations for global art lovers in the 21st century.
Director's Biography:
HEATHER LENZ – Director and Producer Writer, director and producer
Heather Lenz is passionate about documentaries and biography films. She has degrees in Art History and Fine Arts from Kent State University, and an MFA in Cinematic Arts from the University of Southern California.
Lenz first became interested in Kusama while studying art in the early ‘90s. When she first saw the Japanese artist’s work it was love at first sight. She felt strongly that Kusama’s contributions to the American art world had been largely overlooked. Lenz originated the film on Kusama and has worked for over a decade to bring the story to the screen. Lenz never imagined that during the making of the film Kusama would become the top-selling female artist in the world.
During the making of the documentary, Lenz married into a Japanese family. Her father-in-law (a 17th generation Buddhist Minister) and her mother-in-law (an expert in the dying art of the Japanese tea ceremony) are both from the Hiroshima area and, like Kusama’s parents, they have an arranged marriage. Her husband’s grandfather was obliterated by the atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima. It is important to Lenz that this film about the colorful artist Yayoi Kusama, which contains information about the darker side of Kusama’s history as a child during WWII, will help to introduce it to younger generations and prevent it from being forgotten. Lenz has written on Kusama’s anti-war art for Specialten DVD Magazine.
More information:
• Multiple languages, with Chinese and English subtitles
• Category: IIB
• This is a HMAW1905-recognized event
• Admission: free of charge