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Yayoi Kusama

Art

10 Great Works of Literature and the Famous Artworks That Should Illustrate Them

By Chloe Pantazi on

Literature and art often work best together. Walk into the New York Public Library and you’ll find a heaven of books amid decadent paintings. Frank O’Hara’s 1957 poem, “Why I Am Not a Painter,” is best read alongside Michael Goldberg’s painting, Sardines. More recently, Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs came up with Bookcam, a sculpture that, as its title suggests, is a working camera made out of books. And The Book Lovers, the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts‘ current exhibition, which features novels by Carl Andre, Salvador Dalí, and Andy Warhol, is all about the relationship between books and art. The show inspired us to explore that relationship further by matching artworks to our favorite pieces of literature – we think these would make fantastic illustrations. … Read More

New York

The Best Things Flavorwire Staffers Did in New York This Year

By Judy Berman on

As another year comes to a close, like everyone else on the Internet, we’ve compiled lists of our favorite films and books and albums. But in an office full of New Yorkers who spend so much time enjoying — and participating in — the cultural life of our city, we would be remiss not to look back on what we actually went out and did this year. Below you’ll find Flavorwire staffers’ favorite NY cultural experiences of 2012, from theater to art to live music to cinema; tell us about yours in the comments. … Read More

Art

10 Famous Artists’ Stunning Studios

By Claire Cottrell on

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “An artist’s studio should be a small space because small rooms discipline the mind and large ones distract it.” An interesting concept, but does it necessarily hold true centuries later? With that in mind, we thought we’d take a look at some of the most inspiring ateliers of some of the world’s most famous artists. From Picasso’s spacious studio on the French Riviera that was both his home and the hub of his social life to Georgia O’Keeffe’s beloved Ghost Ranch in New Mexico where she could work both inside and out, click through to check out some of the most spectacular creative spaces in the world. Let us know in the comments which you’d most love to work in! … Read More

Pop Culture

10 Music Videos That “Borrow” from Famous Artists

By Marina Galperina on

Last week, there was a piece on Hyperallergic on pop music’s love affair with contemporary art that inspired us to do some digging. Yayoi Kusama à la Nicky Minaj specifically made us optimistic that modern pop music cares enough about art to stage such elaborate recreations — although, a little credit where credit is due would be nice. That said, down the rabbit hole we went. Here are a few of the standout music videos doing that pay homage to visual artists, with various aesthetic and legal results. What did we miss? … Read More

Art

Amazing Chess Sets Created by Famous Artists

By Marina Galperina on

Who needs regular chess when you can play with Yayoi Kusama’s splendidly dotted mushroomy shapes, Damien Hirst’s glass crystal pharmacy sets, or major chess champ Garry Kasparov’s favorite, Paul McCarthy’s playable collection of random kitchen ephemera? Ketchup to F3 and toaster-mate! Want! That is, if we had the money to purchase famous art. On now at the Saatchi Gallery in London through October 3rd, The Art of Chess brings together the work of some of the biggest names in the art world and their version of one of the humanity’s oldest games. Luckily for us, the fantastic Happy Famous Artists blog team stopped by the exhibit. Check out their photos, check check. Get it?  … Read More

Fashion

10 Trendsetting Elderly Style Icons

By Alison Nastasi on

Both outrageously funny, pioneering, and strikingly stylish, Phyllis Diller and Helen Gurley Brown are two “glam-mas” that are very much missed. While the Cosmo editor-in-chief opted for shrewd sophistication over Diller’s exaggerated, gaudy glamour, the groundbreaking duo made bold style statements that exceeded mere fashion, up until their final days. They owned their look through and through, and we’ve selected a group of golden girls that match Diller and Brown’s trendsetting sensibility. Click through for a look at a few of our favorite age-defying style icons. … Read More

Art

Fascinating Video Footage of Famous Artists at Work

By Marina Galperina on

Art in action! Sometimes, strolling through museums and galleries, one can disassociate the works from the artist, reducing them to pleasing pretty independent objects strung to walls, not the product of someone’s expression, labor, and intent. For that reason, please refer to our sparsely annotated, mini-clip-playlist of artists at work on their art. Watch Picasso delight himself by drawings flowers. See Yayoi Kusama scribble madly away. Behold Basquiat spray painting wisdom on the walls of downtown New York. Remind yourself that this all did not just come to be, but spilled, splattered, and flowed out of our visual art icons — and it didn’t always come easy. … Read More

Books

Yayoi Kusama’s Trippy Illustrations for ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’

By Emily Temple on

“I, Kusama, am the modern Alice in Wonderland,” declares the dot-crazed Japanese artist in a new edition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and we’re inclined to agree. We checked out the prolific Japanese artist’s awesome retrospective at the Whitney last week, and a stop in the museum’s gift shop led us to discover yet another treat: Alice in Wonderland has been given the Kusama dot treatment in a charming little book, which came out earlier this year. We think this is pretty much the perfect pairing, and if you do too, click through to check out a few pages from the book, and then be sure to check out this wonderful video to see even more! … Read More

Art

Yayoi Kusama’s Wild World of Dots, Mirrors, and Phallic Fabric Tendrils

By Marina Galperina on

The fourth floor of the Whitney was predictably crowded at the opening of the museum’s new Yayoi Kusama exhibition. The work of one of Japan’s most important living artists was back in New York, where the ground-breaking eccentric made her name in the 1960s and 1970s avant-garde scene. The show at the Whitney — which runs through until September 30 — is part retrospective, part celebration, and loads of archival material. Here’s a little peek at the work on view. Beware the tendrils! … Read More

Fashion

Take a Look at Yayoi Kusama’s Collection for Louis Vuitton

By Judy Berman on

Yayoi Kusama may have a retrospective opening at the Whitney in July, but that’s not the only place you’ll be able to see the Japanese artist and writer’s signature dots this summer. She’s also teaming up with Louis Vuitton on “Infinitely Kusama,” a collection of clothing and accessories that will be instantly recognizable to her fans, each garment featuring spots of multiple sizes and the bright, often primary colors that distinguish her work. LV has released some images of the dresses, shoes, and bags — which we first spotted at Designboom — that make up the collection, and it doesn’t disappoint. Click through for a selection of our favorite Kusama x Vuitton looks, which will be available July 10th and will, unfortunately, probably cost about as much as an original piece of work by the artist. … Read More