102 The room and box like structure of both works, helped further contextualize the feeling of obliteration, which was a strong choice by Kusama. As someone who has been able to participate in one of Kusama’s piece, the structure is one of the strongest aspects of the two works. In Mirror Room (Pumpkin), the viewer enters a room covered in a repeated polka dot pattern, then drawn further to a box shape opening on another structure. As the viewer looks into the hole, the mirror room with polka dot pumpkins can be seen. The act of entering a room to then partly enter another gives the feeling of Russian Nesting Dolls, collapsing the viewer into the space. While, Infinity Mirrored Room - The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away lets the viewer entered the room, follow a carpet path that ends in the center. When the viewer enters the room, with all mirrored surfaces and no
visible door, the realistic nature of the infinite universe is taken a step further. From my own experience of visiting The Broad museums Yayoi Kusama work in 2015, I looked around 360 degrees and felt immersed in the infinite feeling. The Broad’s piece attracted many more viewers from across the world, like the singer Adele. In a video interview, Adele mentions she “felt like standing in that room for an hour, I saw things in myself and of myself that I haven’t noticed before,” a type of revelation that might have only been accomplished with the preceding feeling of obliteration5. Kusama is able to lead viewers to a type of spiritual revelation, when she examines the state of obliteration. Though Mirror Room (Pumpkin) and Infinity Mirrored Room - The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away, were created more than a decade a part, Kusama has the ability to adapt her decades long use of
repetition and examine complicated philosophical ideas like the state of obliteration, through her use of light, material and structure.
“Obliterate.” Merriam-Webster.com. Accessed December 6, 2016. https://www.merriam-webster.com/ dictionary/obliterate. 2 Keehan, Reuben. “Yayoi Kusama: TENACIOUS BEAUTY.” Flash Art International 45, no. 285 (July 2012): 67-69. Art & Architecture Source, EBSCOhost (accessed November 5, 2016). 3 CORKILL, EDAN. “Yayoi Kusama.” Artasiapacific no. 83 (May 2013): 207-210. Art & Architecture Source, EBSCOhost (accessed November 4, 2016). 4 See Note 3 5 Kale, Sirin. “Adele Performs inside a Yayoi Kusama Infinity Mirrored Room.” Dazed. March 5, 2016. Accessed November 5, 2016. http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/30157/1/adele- performs-inside-ayayoi-kusama-infinity-mirrored-room. 1