Recommended Ages: 6-10, Duration of Activity: 1 hour
Yayoi Kusama Biography
Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist who works primarily in large format sculpture and installation. She has been acknowledged as one of the most important living artists to come out of Japan.
Kusama was born on March 22, 1929 and raised in Matsumoto, Japan. She studied at the Kyoto School of Arts and Crafts and was trained in nihonga, a traditional Japanese painting style. After she moved to New York City in 1958, she became part of the city's pop art scene that was popular during the 60s. Since the 1970s, Kusama has become famous for her immserive installations as well as her signature use of polka dots.
Her art has been featured in world-renowned art institutions and is also on permanent display in museums such at The Broad in Los Angeles, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy in France, and National Gallery of Australia. In 2017 the Yayoi Kusama Museum was inaugurated in Tokyo.
photo credit: Yayoi Kusama, Person of Cultural Merit, received the Order of Culture on November, 2016. (image by 文部科学省ホームページ, distributed under CC BY 4.0 license)
Video Source: "Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors | Arts | NPR" by NPR, Mar 1, 2017
Mini Infinity Room: Step by Step Guide
Supplies
- Cardboard Box (example: an empty shoe box, tissue box, or an empty packaging box)
- Glue
- Scissors
- Aluminum Foil Wrap
- Markers, colored pencils, or crayons
- Construction Paper, Printer Paper or Downloadable Polka Dot Paper (Click on the links to download patterned paper: Yellow Polka Dot Red Background, Red Dots, White Background, Multicolor Dots, White Background, Black Dots, Yellow Background)
- Dot Stickers (Optional)
- Mini Toy Figurines - (Optional)
Instructions
Step 2: Glue the Mirrors
Cut the sheets of foil in various squares and rectangles. The foil pieces can be the size of a wall or half the wall. Use glue to attach the foil to the inside walls and floor of the box. The foil will be the "mirrors" in your Mirror Room.
Mix up what gets covered in foil. Cover a whole wall with foil or leave some parts of it uncovered.
Tip: Don't forget the foil is your mirror! Keep the mirrors reflective by avoidng crinkles and folds in the mirror. Keep the foil as smooth as possible!
Step 3: Dot It!
If you are using blank paper (construction paper or printer paper), cut the paper so that it fits all over the blank spaces not filled by the foil. Glue down the paper.
Create your dots! Use a marker, crayon, or colored pencils to draw dots all over the blank paper. Or using a different color construction paper, cut out dots and glue the dots down on the blank paper.
Make lots and lots and lots of dots!
If you printed out the dot paper, cut out the paper so that it fits all the blank spaces not filled by the foil. Glue down the paper. You can also use dots made out of construction paper or draw dots to make as many dots as you want.
Optional: Polka Dot Toys
Add some friends to your Mini Infinity Room but gluing down some mini toys such as animals figurines, toy cars, or legos. Cover them with dots and then glue them down onto the floor or walls of the Mini Infinity Room. It will be best to use a marker or glue down dots made out of construction paper.