17.02.18 (Asahi News) ARASHI・Ohno-san “Immeasurable power” Conversation with Kusama Yayoi-san

[arashitranslation]

Continuing her fruitful production, avant-garde artist Kusama Yayoi-san (87)’s highest rank personal exhibition “Yayoi Kusama: My Eternal Soul” will start at The National Art Center at Roppongi・Tokyo from 22 February. Kusama-san, before the opening of the exhibition, had a conversation with idol group “ARASHI” leader Ohno Satoshi-san (36) about production as well as the personal exhibition. Ohno-san also paints and makes figures, and has a close friendship with Kusama-san since several years ago.

Kusama-san: You look great.
Ohno-san: It has been about more than a year since we last met.
Kusama-san: You are so active, you must be busy.
Ohno-san: Last year there were various works, really I didn’t paint much.
Kusama-san: Like me. I also meet visitors everyday and everyday. There are a lot of coverage from other countries too. So there are also occasions that I don’t have meal and go painting.
Ohno-san: You don’t have meal.
Kusama-san: Painting is important. My hands just move on and on and paint. So I replace my meal with chocolate and senbei.
Ohno-san: At what time do you approximately get up.
Kusama-san: I get up at around 6 o’ clock, and paint until mid-night. When I can’t fall asleep, I paint until 3:30.
Ohno-san: Then, you don’t sleep. Because you think it is better to go painting?
Kusama-san: Right, very fortunate. That I am absorbed in painting.
Ohno-san: How much time do you need for making one production?
Kusama-san: For small one I spend one day, sometimes two and a half days. This is fast.
Ohno-san: Do you hesitate about colour?
Kusama-san: I don’t hesitate. Everything is finished in my head, and then come out and out.
Ohno-san: What about the dot (polka dot)?
Kusama-san: The origin is the visual hallucination since my childhood. Since then, things like mesh come out a lot.
Ohno-san: The idea never runs out.
Kusama-san: Absolutely never. There are so many ideas coming out. Your work is great too. I think it’s splendid. You can sing and dance, I think it’s rare for a person to be able to do all these various things.
Ohno-san: No no, not at all. Do Sensei have vision hereafter?
Kusama-san: Paintings that even after I die, young people will also be touched by them, I want to work to my best on it.
Ohno-san: Thus far how many production have you created.
Kusama-san: I think several ten thousands. Because I paint since I was a child. The exhibition this time will also display my paintings during childhood.
Ohno-san: There are production kept until now. Though I have seen Sensei’s production many times, this time I shall still have different feelings towards them. I look forward to it.
Kusama-san: It is great meeting you today. The splendor of life is, that people can meet each other again.
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When the conversation ended, Ohno-san said “Kusama-san keeps on painting. I feel the immeasurable power from her productions. One is not able to create such painting if one only does things halfway. The more I hear what [Kusama-san] says, the more in-depth I think they are.”
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Source: http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASK266HP2K26PLZU009.html

Yayoi Kusama: My Eternal Soul
http://kusama2017.jp/
Twitter @kusama2017

Thanks for @miyuki-arashi‘s request. Hope you enjoy this interview and please let me know if I make any mistake. Thanks.

Comments

[orsa2017]

Wow thanks!! I don't remember if I read this article before or not.. lol.. but it's fun reading it again..

Their Tshirt collab was the best!! Hope Ohno works with more artists..

[arashitranslation]

Thanks for reading :)