ICA: We All Shout Hooray!

Posted March 4, 2020 by Katie Carlson

A few weeks ago, I was able to snag a spot to attend the LOVE IS CALLING exhibit at the ICA with Panopticon (Simmons’ resident art libraries interest org) for FREE. It was one of the coolest installations I’ve seen in a while! LOVE IS CALLING is an installation by Yayoi Kusama that premiered in Japan in 2013. Kusama is a 90(!!!!) year old artist who has been active since the 60s. She is most known for her sculptures, massive installations, and blunt red bob. Polka dots are a common thread that run through Kusama’s sculptural work, and for good reason: Kusama was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive neurosis in the 70s, and states that the dots are a visual representation of hallucinations she has experienced since the age of 10. Kusama calls these clusters of polka dots “infinity nests,” while the full room installations are referred to as “infinity rooms.”

 LOVE IS CALLING (seen left) is a prime example of one of Yayoi Kusama’s infinity rooms, which use mirrors to make rooms (and polka dots) seem endless and inescapable. From photos, I mistakenly thought that the sculpted tendrils (attached to the floor and hanging from the ceiling) would be solid, but upon entering the room, I saw that they were inflatable. The hum of the fans was a fun foil to Kusama’s own voice reading a poem in her native Japanese entitled “Residing in a Castle of Shed Tears.” The room was dark, and we had to be walked in by a museum guide! Such a weird (but cool) sensory experience! 

 I am known for being Extra™ and loving a theme, so when I confirmed that I would be seeing LOVE IS CALLING, I simply had to match my outfit with the exhibition. Enjoy some photos of me and my roommate Adaliz cheesing it up!  

It was amazing to get to explore the ICA with other art-loving librarians! Tickets for this exhibition were nearly impossible to get, so I am #grateful for the Panopticon Exec Board for making my polka dotted dreams a reality!