An extraordinary immersive installation featuring pumpkins, entitled All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins, is currently on display at the Dallas Museum of Art.
The installation, which is the only Infinity Mirror Room of its kind in a North American collection, invites North Texans to escape into an extraordinary pumpkin patch through January 18.
Yayoi Kusama’s work has captivated audiences for decades, and this installation debuted at the museum following its acquisition in 2017.
Dr. Vivian Li, the museum’s Lupe Murchison Curator of Contemporary Art, highlights Kusama’s deep connection to pumpkins, stating that growing up in rural Japan surrounded by nature sparked her interest in the motif.
Kusama began incorporating the Japanese pumpkin, known as kabocha squash, into her art as early as the late 1940s.
Her first Infinity Mirror Room, titled Phalli’s Field, emerged in 1965 in New York, showcasing her interest in repetition and perception with a 25 square-meter mirrored room filled with stuffed phallic-shaped tubers.
Returning to Japan in the late 1970s allowed her to revisit the pumpkin theme, leading to more pumpkin-centric works in the 1980s.
In 1993, Kusama represented Japan at the Venice Biennale, presenting her first pumpkin-themed mirror room, Mirror Room (Pumpkin), as the centerpiece of her exhibit.
All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins expands on her initial pumpkin room concept, featuring polka-dotted pumpkins of various sizes that create an illusion of infinite space.
As visitors enter the room, they are immersed in an expansive and sublime environment where they become part of the art itself.
“You are transported into a growing field of pumpkins. They are reflected back again and again and multiplied, even upside down so be sure up,” Dr. Li explained.
Despite measuring only 13 square feet, the room feels limitless.
“What Kusama creates inside is a vast, magnificent universe,” Dr. Li emphasized.
Due to the installation’s popularity, timed tickets are required for entry, with only two visitors permitted inside at a time.
A museum attendant guides visitors in and out, with each person enjoying just over a minute within the pumpkin-filled room.
Photography and videography are welcomed—with restrictions on flash, tripods, and selfie sticks.
Dr. Li encourages visitors to fully experience the installation, saying, “There’s no right or wrong way to experience a pumpkin room. It might feel joyful or fun. It might feel surreal or deeply introspective. But in your precious 45 seconds, I encourage you to look not just with your camera, but with your eyes.”
Amongst the seemingly endless pumpkins, visitors can foster an intimate connection with Kusama, who identifies with the unpretentious pumpkin, viewing it as a self-portrait that radiates joy and life.
At 96 years old, Kusama remains a global icon, firmly linking herself with this autumnal fruit, regardless of the changing seasons outside the confines of the museum.
image source from：nbcdfw
