At the age of 10 Yayoi Kusama had her first hallucination
10岁时 草间弥生第一次出现幻觉
which she described as flashes of light, auras or dense fields of dots.
据她描述 她看到闪光 灵光或密集的圆点
The dots would come to life and consume her
这些圆点活了过来并吞噬她
and she would find herself obliterated.
她会发觉自己消融在其中
Polka dots have been a lifelong obsession for her.
她一生着迷于波尔卡圆点
For someone whose work has crossed from art to fashion
尽管她的作品涉及甚广 从艺术到时尚
and from filmmaking to performance art,
从电影制作到行为艺术
her continuing exploration of the polka dot has remained the one consistent motif.
然而对波尔卡圆点的不断探索是她的永恒主题
So this is not a film about a specific artwork.
因此本片并不会讲述某一件具体的艺术品
This is a film about the simple polka dot,
而是讲述简单的波尔卡圆点
a dot that has obsessed Kusama for nine decades,
这一图案令草间弥生痴迷九十年
from her struggle for recognition to her later years as an art world sensation.
伴随她从努力得到认可 到晚年成为轰动艺术界的人物
Yayoi Kusama was born in a rural provincial town in Japan to a wealthy family.
草间弥生出生在日本乡镇的一个富裕家庭
That same year the stock markets crashed
那一年 股市暴跌
and civil unrest in Japan was followed by intense militarism.
日本国内动荡不安 随后军国主义盛行
In 1941 Japan’s entry into the war
1941年 日本参战时
found the 12-year old Kusama sewing military parachutes in textile factories，
12岁的草间弥生在纺织厂缝制军用降落伞
a skill she would later utilize for her soft sculptures.
她后来将这项技能用于她的软雕塑作品
Her mother was extremely abusive
她的母亲十分暴虐
and had planned an arranged marriage for Kusama
曾为女儿安排过一桩婚事
and a life as an obedient housewife.
希望她过上温顺的家庭主妇的生活
In fact she did everything in her power to stop Kusama becoming an artist,
事实上 母亲竭尽全力阻止草间弥生成为艺术家
or having any career at all,
或拥有任何事业
which she said would bring shame on the family.
因为母亲认为这会给家里蒙羞
But art was Kusama’s lifeline,
但艺术是草间弥生的生命
it helped relieve her hallucinations, depression and anxiety
艺术有助于缓解她至今仍遭受的
which she still suffers from today.
幻觉 抑郁和焦虑症状
Kusama has described how at times
草间弥生曾描述过 有时她觉得
she feels her whole body functions breaking down,
自己的整个身体机能都崩溃了
with feelings of becoming “absorbed by” or “dissolved” within her surrounding environment.
伴随着被周围环境“吸入”或“溶解”的感觉
Art is a way for her to take back control,
艺术能让她重新控制自己
a way to fight her demons.
打败她的心魔
Although she was starting to get some attention in Japan,
尽管她在日本开始获得了一些关注
it was a small art scene then,
但那时 艺术领域范围较小
and she was a woman living under a stifling patriarchal society.
并且作为女性的她 当时正身处压抑的父权社会中
Kusama needed to escape.
草间弥生需要逃脱
A chance discovery in a second-hand bookshop would change her life.
一次在二手书店的偶然发现改变了她的一生
American artist Georgia O’Keeffe was one of the most famous artists in the world.
美国艺术家乔治娅·奥·吉弗是举世闻名的艺术家之一
and her works were in every major museum in the US,
她的作品在美国各大博物馆展出
but she was pretty much unknown in Japan.
但她在日本鲜有人知
Yet somehow, miraculously,
然而不知何故 奇迹般地
a book of her paintings found its way into the young Kusama’s hands in rural Japan.
在日本乡镇 年轻的草间弥生得到了一本她的画册
It was a revelation. Kusama was stunned by O’Keeffe’s paintings
简直是惊喜的发现 草间弥生为奥·吉弗的画作所震撼
and would explore similar themes later,
在后来的艺术创作中 她不仅探索了相似的主题
but she was also attracted to her achievements as a woman.
而且被奥·吉弗作为女性所取得的成就所吸引
Kusama wrote to her in the US and sent her some drawings.
她给当时在美国的奥·吉弗写信 并寄去一些画
In an incredible show of generosity,
奥·吉弗表现出难以置信的慷慨
O’Keefe not only took the time to write back
不但花时间回信
but then sent letters of introduction to important people in the New York art world.
还给纽约艺术界的重要人物写了介绍信
In July 1956, Kusama destroyed 2,000 old work she had created.
1956年7月 草间弥生销毁了她创作的2000件旧作品
America would be a new beginning for the artist
对这位艺术家来说 美国将是一个新的开始
and she wouldn’t return to japan until 1973.
直到1973年之前 她都没有回过日本
Kusama arrived in New York with a suitcase full of drawings,
草间弥生到纽约时 带着装满画作的手提箱
a determination to grab everything going in the city,
她决心跟上这座城市瞬息万变的步伐
and, in her own words, to become a star.
同时 用她的话说 她要成名
The first thing she did was go up to the top of the Empire State building
她做的第一件事就是登上帝国大厦的顶端
and look down at the city she planned to conquer.
俯瞰这座她意欲征服的城市
We mustn’t underestimate what a difficult task it was
我们绝不能低估这个目标的困难程度
for a young Japanese woman with no support,
对于一个无依无靠的年轻日本女人
speaking little to no English to up sticks and moved to New York
在几乎不会说英语的情况下 在20世纪50年代
from a small Japanese town, in the 1950s!
背井离乡 从一个日本小镇搬到纽约
This required monumental determination.
这需要极大的决心
She went from a wealthy life in Japan to living in abject poverty in New York,
她告别日本富裕的生活 在纽约过起了穷困潦倒的日子
surviving on a diet of potatoes, onions, and black coffee.
靠土豆 洋葱和黑咖啡果腹
No wonder she often describes how she craved fame.
于是她常将对成名的渴望挂在嘴边便不足为奇了
It is something artists rarely discuss
这是艺术家们很少谈论的事情
but for Kusama, it would be her driving force.
但对草间弥生来说 这是她的动力
The field of dots she experienced in her hallucinations
她把在幻觉中看到的成片的圆点
developed into a visual device: the polka dot.
发展成一种视觉装置：波尔卡圆点
This image of her mother, by ten-year-old Kusama, was the first time
10岁的草间弥生在创作这幅描绘母亲的作品时
she would use the dot,
第一次运用圆点
and it would become her “trademark”.
这也成为了她的标志
We could make a comparison with Roy Liechtenstein who was also using dots.
与之相较的 有同样用波点作画的罗伊·利希滕斯坦
or Bridget Riley, who was exploring Op-Art,
或致力于探索欧普艺术的布里奇特·莱利
but for Kusama, dots came directly from within.
但对草间弥生来说 圆点直接源于内心
For her, dots were a form of healing,
对她来说 圆点是一种疗愈方式
and repetition of them was a way to calm her mind,
圆点的重复能让她平静思绪
and overcome her fear and anxiety.
克服恐惧和焦虑
They were, as she said, a way to “self-obliterate”,
按照她所说 那是一种“自我消融”的方式
a way to disappear into her artwork.
能让她消失于自己的艺术作品中
In New York, Kusama began applying the polka dot to
在纽约 草间弥生开始将圆点运用在
animals, paper, canvas, walls and naked bodies.
动物 纸张 画布 墙壁和裸体上
From the beginning, Kusama played with her persona.
从一开始 草间弥生就在设想自己的形象
She was a self-styled “outsider” in America,
她自封为在美国的“局外人”
a female artist in an aggressively male dominated scene,
在男性强势主导的艺术领域中的女性艺术家
a Japanese person in the overwhelmingly white art scene,
在白人占主导地位的艺术圈中的日本人
and a victim of neurosis and depression.
以及神经症和抑郁症的受害者
She refused to be categorized or put in a box,
她拒绝被归类或划分
continuously innovating and reinventing herself.
因此不断地创新和重塑自己
As a critic once said:
一位评论家曾说：
“Miss Kusama is an artist who fits in everywhere
“草间弥生女士是一位随遇而安
but stands alone.”
却又特立独行的艺术家”
New York at the time was under the spell of Abstract Expressionism
当时的纽约深受抽象表现主义的影响
but Kusama’s first show in New York consisted of
但草间弥生在纽约的第一场展览
what she called “Infinity net paintings”,
由她称之为“无限的网”的画作组成
starting the obsessive repetitive work that would define her career.
这便是定义她艺术生涯的极度重复作品的开端
Kusama rejected the broad dramatic marks of Abstract Expressionism
草间弥生排斥抽象表现派大范围引人注目的特征
and painted thousands of tiny semi-circles of paint
她在巨大的画布上重复画满了成千上万个
repeated across huge canvases,
站远一点就无法看到的
invisible when seen at a distance,
颜料涂抹的半圆形小点
but up close form an undulating net
但靠近看 这些小点组成了没有起点
with no beginning, middle or end.
中部和终点的绵延起伏的网格
Her work was calm and collected,
她作品中的平静和镇定
in contrast to the emotional mark making of Jackson Pollock.
与杰克逊·波洛克画作中的情绪化特征形成对比
The dots and nets could be traced back to her early work,
圆点和网的创作可以追溯到她的早期作品
but here they were huge,
但在这里 它们意义重大
a physical embodiment of “self-obliteration”.
是“自我消融”的实际体现
Her work was so groundbreaking.
她的作品极具开创性
It anticipated the emerging Minimalist movement,
预示了极简抽象派的兴起
and we can see it as a bridge between Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism.
我们可以将其看作抽象表现派和极简抽象派之间的桥梁
It was a great start for Kusama.
这对草间弥生来说是一个好的开始
Less than a year in the city,
在纽约还不到一年
and her first solo show in 1959 created an immediate buzz.
她在1959年的首次个人艺术展立刻引起轰动
Kusama, always a workaholic, spent every waking hour making net paintings,
草间弥生是个工作狂 她用醒着的所有时间画无限的网
sometimes working through the night,
有时甚至通宵创作
more and more of them, until her studio was full.
她的作品越来越多 直到填满工作室
Not surprisingly, she suffered extreme hallucinations,
毫不意外 她出现了严重的幻觉
and was rushed to Bellevue hospital for her obsessive compulsive neurosis.
还因强迫性神经症被紧急送往贝尔维尤医院
Installation is a term used to describe art that is often designed
装置艺术这一术语指的是
for a specific place or for a temporary period of time,
为特定场所或短期使用而设计的艺术形式
and Kusama would become a leading exponent of this art form.
草间弥生成为这种艺术形式的主要典范
In 1962, she began making soft sculpture phalluses
1962年 她开始用填充了棉花的帆布
out of cotton stuffed canvas.
创作阴茎形状的软雕塑
This was radical work for a female artist,
对于一位女性艺术家 这是激进的做法
and these sculptures made over 60 years ago
而这些制造于60多年前的雕塑
still have the power to shock today,
在今天仍因幽默和性的共同体现
because of the juxtaposition of humor and sexuality.
而拥有使人震撼的力量
Her first “official” installation was in 1963:
1963年 她举办了第一场“正式”的装置艺术展
A rowboat which she covered in her soft phallic shapes,
一艘覆盖着她制作的
presented in a space, where the walls were covered
阴茎形状软雕塑的划艇展出在
in wallpaper reproductions of the same sculpture.
贴满该划艇图案墙纸的空间里
It was totally unique,
这场展览绝对是独一无二的
and no one had seen anything like it in New York.
没有人在纽约见过这样的东西
Phalluses would become another theme of Kusama
阴茎成为草间弥生创作的另一主题
who said that as a child she was forced by her mother to spy on her father,
她说小时候 她被母亲强迫去监视父亲
when she caught him making love to his mistress,
那时她看到父亲在和他的情妇做爱
it caused a lifelong aversion to sex.
这导致了她一生对性的厌恶
One thing the art world rarely discusses is plagiarism between artists.
艺术界极少讨论艺术家之间的剽窃
That is unless you are Yayoi Kusama,
除非你是草间弥生
who in an unusual move,
她以不同寻常的方式
specifically addressed how her work was “co-opted” by male artists,
特别指出她的作品是如何被男性艺术家”借鉴”
who then showed it in more established galleries.
之后又在更有名的展览上展出的
Kusama would later say, it wasn’t the idea of being ripped off that bothered her
草间弥生后来说 让她烦恼的不是被抄袭
but rather the lack of acknowledgement.
而是没有人表示谢意
Claes Oldenburg was working with hard materials in the 1960s,
20世纪60年代 克雷斯·奥登伯格一直以硬材料进行创作
but just months after Kusama’s exhibition of soft sculptural works,
但就在草间弥生的软雕塑展出仅数月之后
he put on a show filled with soft sculptures.
他就举办了软雕塑展
It launched Oldenburg’s international career.
这场展览开启了奥登伯格的国际生涯
Kusama’s innovation in the art form received little recognition.
而草间弥生在艺术形式上的创新几乎没得到认可
Then there was Andy Warhol,
这时安迪·沃霍尔出现了
a close friend of Kusama – or so she thought.
他是草间的挚友 至少草间是这样认为的
In an interview she said:
在一次采访中她说到
“Andy Warhol came to the show and admired my wallpaper images.”
“安迪·沃霍尔来看展览 他很欣赏我的墙纸设计”
He said: “Wow. fantastic Yayoi, I like this so much.”
他说：“哇 太棒了 弥生 我太喜欢了”
And then in 1966, he went on to cover the walls of
接着在1966年 他也给利奥·卡斯特利画廊的墙壁
the Leo Castelli gallery with wallpaper.
贴上了墙纸
She sank into a depression and retreated to her studio,
她陷入抑郁并隐居在她的工作室
covering all her windows so nobody could steal her ideas
她把窗户全都遮起来 这样就没人偷走她的创意
and worked in secret.
然后她秘密地进行创作
Then in 1965, kusama re-emerged
1965年 草间弥生带着她的第一部《无限镜屋》复出
with her first “Infinity room”, called “Phalli’s field”,
命名为《阳具原野》
in which she arranged hundreds of polka dotted soft phallic forms in a mirrored room.
在这个镜屋里 她布置了数百个圆点图案的阴茎形状软雕塑
Artists have always worked with perspective and infinity,
艺术家们总是用透视和无限的概念来创作
but Kusama’s work was one of the earliest installation artworks
但草间弥生的作品是最早的装置艺术作品之一
that encouraged viewers to enter and experience
装置艺术鼓励观众沉浸和体验
rather than passively view a picture in a frame.
而不是被动地观看框架中的画作
The room enveloped the viewer and no longer is the viewer in control.
房间将参观者封闭其中 而不再由参观者来掌控
All artists to some extent control how we view their work,
所有艺术家都在某种程度上控制着我们欣赏作品的方式
but for Kusama, a lack of control of her health,
但对于草间弥生 她对健康的失控
meant she created work that controls
意味着她在创作作品时
EXACTLY how we the viewer perceive time and space.
掌控的恰恰是参观者如何感知时间和空间
Then just seven months after her infinity room failed to sell,
就在她的无限镜屋售出失败一事的7个月后
the artist Lucas Samaras showed a similar mirrored environment
艺术家卢卡斯·萨马拉斯在著名的佩斯画廊
at the established Pace gallery.
举办了一场类似的镜屋展
He got rave reviews, and a sellout show.
他收获了狂热好评 门票销售一空
This was Samaras’s first environment,
这是萨马拉斯的第一场镜屋展览
and there is no mistaking its similarity to Kusama’s mirrored room that preceded it.
毫无疑问 这个镜屋和草间弥生先前创作的镜屋相似
These mirror infinity rooms are arguably her most popular works,
无限镜屋可以说是草间弥生最受欢迎的作品
and when we think of mirrored rooms today, we only think of Kusama.
今天 一想到镜屋 我们只会想到草间弥生
But after seeing Samara’s room,
但看过萨马拉斯的空间展之后
Kusama became so deeply depressed that she attempted suicide.
草间弥生非常沮丧 企图自杀
In 1966, Kusama participated in the 33rd Venice Biennale,
1966年 草间弥生参加了世界上最负盛名的艺术节
the most prestigious arts festival in the world.
第33届威尼斯双年展
The only problem was that she hadn’t been asked by the organisers,
问题是 她并没有被组织方邀请
she just gate-crashed the event!
而是直接闯进了现场！
Without permission she showed “Narcissus garden”,
在未经允许的情况下 她展出了《纳克索斯花园》
a witty take on the commercialisation of the art world,
这幅作品是对艺术世界商业化的诙谐解读
consisting of hundreds of mirrored spheres,
展览由数百个镜面球体组成
what she called a “kinetic carpet”.
她称其为“动感地毯”
Then dressed in a gold kimono, she proceeded to sell each sphere for two dollars,
然后她身穿金色和服 开始以每颗两美元的价格出售这些球
until the biennale committee threw her out.
直到双年展委员会将她赶出去
There were many artists, who were aggressive self-promoters,
有很多艺术家 他们是积极的自我推销者
but none of them were women.
但未曾有女性艺术家这样做
Kusama had to really fight, just for her voice to be heard,
为了让自己的声音被听到 草间弥生必须努力抗争
and some people didn’t like that.
但有些人不喜欢她的做法
They criticised what they called “her excessive self-promotion and lust for publicity”,
他们批评她“过度自我推销并贪求关注”
but as Kusama saw it, she was a “living work of art”.
但在草间弥生看来 她是“活的艺术品”
Her work is deeply personal and so she places herself central to that work.
她的作品极其个人化 因此她把自己置于作品的中心
Kusama had been a pioneer in minimalism, sculpture and installation art,
草间弥生曾是极简主义 雕塑和装置艺术的先驱
and now she turned to performance art.
现在 她转向了行为艺术
Some of Kusama’s earliest surviving paintings relate to the horrors of war,
草间弥生现存最早的一些画作讲述了战争的恐怖
and she had a strong political conscience.
她本人也有着强烈的政治良知
In 1967 she began organising anti-war protests
1967年 她开始组织反战抗议活动
and happenings known as “Atomic Explosions”.
和被称为“原子弹爆炸”的即兴艺术表演
She painted her friends nude bodies with polka dots
她把波尔卡圆点涂画在她朋友裸露的身体上
and demonstrated on Wall Street,
并在华尔街展示
demanding the government bring back the troops from Vietnam.
意在要求政府从越南撤军
For all her zany public persona,
尽管草间弥生有着滑稽的公众形象
Kusama was completely serious about her work,
但她对自己的作品完全是认真的
and as with much of her art,
就像她的许多作品一样
what on the surface seemed almost silly and lightweight,
表面上看起来愚蠢而无足轻重的东西
made a powerful statement.
却能表达强有力的观点
Kusama was well placed to criticise war.
草间弥生有资格批评战争
Her youth had been marked by the effects of the Atomic bomb,
她的少年时期受到原子弹的影响
and she was viscerally opposed to war.
因此她本能地反对战争
She protested the only way she knew-through art.
她唯一的抗争方式 就是艺术
The work brought her more notoriety but few financial benefits.
她的作品让她更加声名狼藉 而几乎没带来任何收益
In another revolutionary performance of 1968,
1968年 在另一场革命性的表演中
Kusama even officiated at the first “gay wedding”,
草间弥生甚至主持了首个“同性婚礼”
having formed her own church,
由此建立了自己的教派
the church of “self-obliteration”.
“自我消融”派
Her performances hit the news in Japan and caused a scandal,
她的表演在日本登上新闻头条 并引发了丑闻
bringing shame on her deeply conservative family.
也因此给她极度保守的家庭带来了耻辱
In 1973, Kusama returned to Japan
1973年 草间弥生回到日本
where she was virtually unknown and dismissed.
在日本 几乎没人认识她 也没人理会她
Then in 1977, after a lifetime of fighting anxiety and hallucinations,
1977年 在经历了与焦虑症和幻觉的长期对抗后
she checked herself into a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo,
她把自己送进东京的一家精神病院
and has lived there ever since.
从此生活在那里
Kusama has been open about her mental health
草间弥生没有隐瞒她的精神问题
and remains on medication to prevent depression and suicidal thoughts.
她坚持药物治疗来预防抑郁和自杀的念头
Every single day she commutes to her studio
每一天 她都前往她的工作室
and works obsessively on her paintings from 9am to 6pm.
从早上9点到下午6点 沉迷于她的艺术创作中
In 1989, Kusama reached 60 years old,
1989年 草间弥生60岁
an important birthday in Japanese culture that symbolises a new start.
在日本文化里 这是一个重要的生日 象征新的开始
And it certainly was for Kusama!
而这一年对于草间弥生也确实如此
Although she had a cult following, she was pretty much forgotten about by the art world.
尽管她有狂热的追随者 但她几乎被艺术界遗忘了
Until 1989, unexpectedly The Centre for International Contemporary Arts in New York
直到1989年 出人意料地 纽约国际当代艺术中心
asked to stage a retrospective of her art.
约请她举办她的艺术回顾展
It would relaunch her career, both internationally and in Japan.
这将在国际和国内重新开启她的事业
Then in 1993 she returned to the Venice Biennale.
于是1993年 她重新回到威尼斯双年展
This time she was invited as a representative of Japan.
这一次 她作为日本代表被邀请
Kusama has finally achieved a worldwide success
草间弥生最终取得长久以来未能实现的
that had eluded her for so long,
举世瞩目的成功
fuelled in some part by social media.
某种程度上 社交媒体推动了她的成功
People queue up for hours for just 60 seconds in one of her Infinity room installations.
人们排队数小时 只为在她的无限镜屋参观一分钟
Each image they take of infinity,
他们拍下的每一个无限画面
join millions more on the Internet,
与数以百万计这样的照片汇集在互联网上
itself, infinite.
这本身 就是一种无限
Today in her 90s,
如今 草间弥生90岁了
Kusama is as productive as ever.
她在艺术创作上和曾经一样高产
Often dismissed as “quirky” or “populist”,
她经常被斥为“古怪”或“平民主义者”
she is, in fact, one of the most radical female artists of all time,
而事实上 她是有史以来最激进的女性艺术家之一
who made some of the most important artworks of the 1960s.
她创作了20世纪60年代最重要的艺术作品
An innovator and a rule breaker.
她是一个变革创新 打破常规的人
Many artists have famously struggled with their mental health,
许多艺术家与精神疾病的斗争为大众所知
and like them, it is impossible to separate
就如他们一样
the art of Yayoi Kusama from her mental health,
草间弥生的艺术与她的精神疾病是分不开的
But why should we?
但是 又为什么一定要分开呢？
Artists like Kusama, make us question our understanding of mental illness,
草间弥生这样的艺术家会让我们质疑自己对精神疾病的理解
and see it not as an “obstacle”, but as just another part of the human condition.
并将其视为人身体的另一种状态 而不是一种“障碍”
These infinite repetitive works were originally designed
这些无限重复的作品起初是为了
to eliminate Kusama’s intrusive thoughts,
消除草间弥生的侵入性思维
but now, as viewers,
但如今 作为观看者
we can experience a small part of her thoughts and feelings
我们能够在“草间弥生世界”的实体无限空间里
in the physical endlessness of “Kusama’s world”.
感受她的一小部分思想和情感