Yayoi Kusama

Artist

1929-03-22

Quotes by Yayoi Kusama

• The machinery of the sky that confounds us on earth with endless transformations of clouds in the light of dawn does not compare to the extraordinary tenacity of human beings, the way of human life, the presentiment of approaching death, the existence of love, the brilliant coruscations of light and the dark scars of our lives, to say nothing of the incomprehensible form of the cosmos and the overwhelming mysteries of space, time, distance.

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• The machinery of the sky that confounds us on earth with endless transformations of clouds in the light of dawn does not compare to the extraordinary tenacity of human beings, the way of human life, the presentiment of approaching death, the existence of love, the brilliant coruscations of light and the dark scars of our lives, to say nothing of the incomprehensible form of the cosmos and the overwhelming mysteries of space, time, distance.

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• When I paint, some things come out, and I don't know. Maybe it's because I have such talent as a painter.

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• I think I will be able to, in the end, rise above the clouds and climb the stairs to Heaven, and I will look down on my beautiful life.

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• My art originates from hallucinations only I can see. I translate the hallucinations and obsessional images that plague me into sculptures and paintings.

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• Polka dots can't stay alone. When we obliterate nature and our bodies with polka dots, we become part of the unity of our environments.

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• With just one polka dot, nothing can be achieved. In the universe, there is the sun, the moon, the earth, and hundreds of millions of stars. All of us live in the unfathomable mystery and infinitude of the universe. Pursuing 'philosophy of the universe' through art under such circumstances has led me to what I call 'stereotypical repetition.'

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• I wanted to start a revolution, using art to build the sort of society I myself envisioned.

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• I have done all the work myself, not assistants. That's why I'm in a wheelchair: I've been doing it physically - it's hard labour - throughout my life.

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• I, Kusama, am the modern Alice in Wonderland.

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• People ask about art and commercialism. I think that if someone tries to sell their work at a high price, that is the wrong way of doing it.

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