Despite a militaristic title and monochromatic palette, Yayoi Kusama’s Pumpkin Army is anything but austere. Characteristically fitting with Kusama’s eccentric personality, the print is a symbol of organized chaos. Each pumpkin bears a uniform of Kusama’s signature polka dots – a motif which has entered popular imagination – rendering the humble fruit both playful and hypnotic. Kusama’s dots have allowed her to obliterate anxiety and express trauma through repetition, paving “the way to infinity.” Indeed, combined with the vertical, segmented forms of the pumpkin the dots create a rhythmic visual oscillation, producing an illusionary effect enhanced by the stark black and white color palette. The dots appear to shift in size before our eyes, growing out of the paper and embracing illusion – just as Kusama has in her infinity rooms.

“I would confront the spirit of the pumpkin, forgetting everything else and concentrating my mind entirely upon the form before me […] I regretted even having to take time to sleep.”

In addition to these recurring motifs, Kusama further explores the central theme of repetition through her chosen medium of screenprint. Yet despite the mechanical nature of the medium, the hallucinogenic motifs and the pumpkin’s bulbous proportions mean the composition is anything but regimented. Kusama navigates the boundaries between control and compulsion. The precise dots demonstrating her technical mastery of the medium but also her signature aesthetic, a way for the artist to transform her frightening hallucinations into something amusing.

Source: Phillips