We’ve been writing about Japanese Artists Yayoi Kusama for several years, ever since we read her astonishing story of her finding her personal “art-medicine”, works of astonishing beauty and surprise that she continues to make at the age of 87. Recently, her work has turned to fairy tale. The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark had the inspired idea to pair some of Kusama’s monochromatic drawings with Hans Christian Andersen’s 179-year-old fairy tale, The Little Mermaid. The original –not the Disney version— is as dark and beautiful as Kusama’s work. Together, they make an experience of a whole other order: the text and brilliantly patterned images combine to infiltrate the senses in unexpected ways.
Here are some examples from The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen & Yayoi Kusama: A Fairy Tale of Infinity and Love Forever; that make for compelling morning poetry…(Click the images to view them larger).
We could see it being a perfect book for an adult to read in small dreamy bits first thing in the morning or late at night…
…as well as an experience that would delight children, through the magical, imagination-fueling visuals and a rather dark story that is rich with colorful detail…
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…The artwork, done with markers, makes us want to draw…
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…We can see the “palace of the sea king” rising…
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…The Little Mermaid is available at Amazon for $35 and at Target for $28 (with free shipping).
