08/21/12 - 0 Comments
Back Again and Wowing the World: The Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama Book
Nothing says excellent taste like some well-chosen coffee table literature; and nothing speaks more highly of a lady’s fashion aesthetic than a copy of the limited edition Louis Vuitton: Yayoi Kusama coffee table book.
Not only is this book deliciously exclusive (the limited edition print is available only at Dover Street Market Ginza in Tokyo, Japan), but it’s also a work of art. Between the pages, you’ll find all the juicy photographic details on one of our all-time favorite duos—a.k.a the collaboration between Yayoi Kusama and Louis Vuitton. More importantly, the book also celebrates Kusama’s impressive 50-year career as a designer extraordinaire. As it turns out, there’s a very good reason she’s considered to be the princess of polkadots.
Though Kusama has been painting since she was ten, it wasn’t until 1957, when she immigrated to the U.S., that her career as an artist took off, catapulting her to international fame. Artist, novelist, poet and filmmaker, Kusama is perhaps best known for her paintings and sculptures where the viewer is thrust into the surreal world of her visual aesthetic and things aren’t quite as they seem. Often, this world is covered in polkadots. For Kusama, these dots were “my medicine—my personal medicine,” according to The Daily Beast. “From my childhood,” Kusama continued, “I [saw] the polkadots.”
Personally, one of our favorite Kusama masterpieces has to be the red and white polkadot elephant that she created for Dover Street Market Ginza. After looking at this instillation, it’s easy to see why Kusama is considered one of Japan’s most amazing contemporary artists. And she’s not done yet. Despite the fact that Kusama returned to Japan in 1973 for health reasons, the artist and her creations are still going strong. In closing, Kusama assured The Daily Beast that, “I think I want to work harder and harder, and reach higher.” Well, it’s hard to imagine her star shining any brighter, but we can’t wait to see what she has up her polkadot-patterned sleeve.
Trust us when we say that your coffee table really isn’t complete without a copy of Louis Vuitton: Yayoi Kusama. Do whatever you have to do to get over to Tokyo (really, it shouldn’t be too hard to come up with an excuse for a trip). And, while you’re visiting Dover Street Market Ginza, we suggest picking up a couple copies of the book—giving it as a gift will kind of make you the most amazing friend ever, and we’re pretty sure you know someone who’s got a birthday coming up.
Okay, so maybe hopping over to Tokyo isn’t quite as easy as we’d like it to be (otherwise, we’d all be going this weekend, and wouldn’t that be nice?). No worries, there’s plenty of Yayoi Kusama to go around. If you’re in the States, we really recommend checking out the Yayoi Kusama exhibit at The Whitney in New York (July 12 to September 30) featured in our This Week: Things To Do rundown of NYC happenings. There’s also another exciting bit of Yayo Kusama coffee table literature, Yayoi Kusama, which is also definitely worth checking out—for more information, click here.
Photo credit: Dover Street Market Ginza, HighSnobiety, Film Forager
