Aftermath of the Obliteration of Eternity and The Wife of Bath
7:00 AM.jpg) |
Yayoi Kusama, Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity, 2009
|
“’Had God commanded maidenhood to all, marriage would be condemned beyond recall, and certainly if seed were never sown, how ever could virginity be grown? Paul did not dare pronounce, let matters rest, his master having given him no behest. There’s a prize offered for virginity; catch as catch can! Who’s in for it? Let’s see! ‘It is not everyone who hears the call on whom God wills He let His power fall. The Apostle was a virgin, well I know; nevertheless, though all his writings show he wished that everyone were such as he, it’s all mere counsel to virginity." - Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue”
Wow. If there was ever a point
where eschatological claims rooted in sexual desire and progressive challenge
of double standards meet, it’s here. The woman here, obviously not one for
conventional marriage structures, comes off almost philosophical here, using
notions of divine will and religious precedent as a straw man for her tiff
against maidenhood. It takes a certain boldness to condemn these
structures with such scathing wit. And while Chaucer isn’t a woman,
his writing reflects what I would assume was a thought that entered many women’s
minds.
That’s where Kusama comes in. As one of the dominant figures in pop art and feminist art, she essentially embodies everything that the narrator
was talking about—a uniquely critical lens on traditional religious ideas of
self, intention and purpose mixed in with a feminist critique of such. Kusama’s
Aftermath is on the surface tranquil
and almost underwhelming—lights in a room with mirrored walls. But the title
provides a fair bit of context for the installation itself. Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity packs
quite the punch, especially when trying to interpret what exactly the lights
are. They could be stars, souls or any number of material elements that make up
the fabric of the cosmos.
In 1975, Kusama was admitted to a
mental hospital for having hallucinations, as well as for statements that were
regarded as harmful to herself and others. It became a tipping point in her
life, one where she began to blur the lines between her visions, her idea of
infinity and her art. Part of that is present in Chaucer’s linear depiction of
this woman, but it’s mostly in the context, the ideas people must have had
about this woman, the conception she has of herself as a renegade, an affront
to the clergy and the citizenry of the time. This may be how the woman sees
herself, but it’s definitely what Kusama is.
0 comments