STANDARDS

Lexile: 920L

Core Art Standards:

VA1: Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work.

VA3: Refine and complete artistic work.

VA11: Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding.

CCSS Anchor Standards:

R2: Determine central themes and summarize.

R3: Analyze ideas and sequence events.

R7: Integrate and evaluate content in diverse media.

Essential Question: What conditions, attitudes, and behaviors support creativity and innovative thinking?

Enduring Understanding: Creativity and innovative thinking are essential life skills that can be developed.

Vocabulary: artistic process, Happenings, interior, patterns, Performance Art, reflecting, repetition, space, suspends

Materials: computer or interactive whiteboard, “Graphic Organizer: Working With Pattern” skills sheet

Lesson: Princess of Polka Dots

Use with pages 4-5.

As a class, read “Princess of Polka Dots.”
Invite students to look at each featured artwork closely. Ask: How and why does Yayoi Kusama work with pattern in these artworks? (Kusama paints repeating net patterns and dots to help take control of her hallucinations. She creates Infinity Rooms—inspired by earlier Happenings—that feature repeating patterns and shapes along with mirrors that reflect viewers endlessly.)
Read aloud the quote on page 5: “Our Earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos. Polka dots are a way to infinity.” Ask: How does this quotation relate to Kusama’s art? (Answers will vary but should touch on how the artist uses polka dots frequently in her explorations of infinity.)
As you discuss Kusama’s work in relation to her mental health, be sensitive to students and their own situations. Make sure to show the resources related to mental health provided on page 5 to any student who might benefit from them. Remind students that if they are struggling, they should always reach out to a trusted adult.
Have students record their findings in their “Graphic Organizer: Working With Pattern” skills sheets.

What is a hallucination? How does Kusama cope with her hallucinations? (A hallucination occurs when a person sees or hears something that isn’t really there. When Kusama hallucinates, she sees “flashes of light, auras, or dense fields of dots.” She manages these experiences by representing them in her art.)
How do the artworks on pages 4-5 relate to events in Kusama’s life? (Answers will vary but should mention that Kusama’s net and polka-dot patterns originate from the “self-obliteration” process related to her hallucinations.)
Compare Kusama’s 1965 installation with her later Infinity Room, both shown on page 5. What do you notice? (Answers will vary but should mention the use of mirrors, pattern, repetition, and the representation of infinity.)

Write a few sentences or a short paragraph describing how Kusama uses art to overcome her personal challenges. How does she turn obstacles into inspiration? How do patterns relate to this inspiration?
Create a sketch of an Infinity Room, or, if possible, build a model using found materials. How will you represent infinity? What patterns will you use? How will viewers experience your work?