“Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos,” Yayoi Kusama once wrote. “Polka dots are a way to infinity.” Kusama has earned her title as the “Princess of Polka Dots,” covering canvases, sculptures, mirrored rooms, and even pumpkins with colorful spots since the 1950s. For the artist, being surrounded by polka dots is a type of “self-obliteration”—a way for her to shed her ego and escape into the infinite abyss. In the ’60s, Kusama often covered her body with polka dots in naked demonstrations that protested the Vietnam War. Covered in the abstract pattern, she urged the public: “Obliterate your personality with polka dots. Become one with eternity. Become part of your environment. Take off your clothes. Make love. Forget yourself. Self-destruction is the only way to peace.”
“Her self-proclaimed obsession with the pumpkin is deeply rooted in her own childhood memories of growing up in Japan. Amid widespread national food shortages during World War II, a storehouse of pumpkins that her family owned provided a crucial lifeline and sustained much of their home village of Matsumoto. The pumpkin took on even more personal and psychological significance for the artist as she began to suffer from vivid hallucinations during childhood. Seeing pumpkins in their multiplicity provided a rare source of comfort...”
If the world renowned Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama had a set of salt and pepper shakers on her table, I imagine they might look like this. I've aimed to design a pair of shakers that did not simply emulate one of her art pieces, but incorporated her essence embedded within the design. I've characterized her essence in a few categories, based on her life, her art, and her interaction with the world:
I sketched out and built some prototypes:
However, each of these initial designs lacked the nuance i was looking for. I then went back to Kusama's theme of "obliteration" and designed my final model:
In the final model:
Clear container & dots
Referential to her work & simple Japanese design
Obliteration
To wipe out completely - When the shakers are filled, the dots are obliterated.
Use-designed
The more dots you see, user must refill the shaker
