Infinity Not Long Enough At Seattle Art Show

AN ANNIVERSARY gift to ourselves recently was a trip across the Peace Arch Border via Quick Shuttle into the US to see the famed Infinity Mirrors art show at the Seattle Art Museum. I knew we were getting close when I saw the Space Needle at a distance from the highway.

The landmark observation tower hovered over the city the way the artist on a television screen hovered over visitors at her exhibition.

At first glance Yayoi Kusama's flamboyance contradicted her statement, "I want to live hidden in the world that lies midway between mystery and symbol."

I soon realized her colourful outfit blended in with the art. The creations were housed in small enclosures where, due to her request, two or three people at a time could spend a scant 20 to 30 seconds. This was frustrating since it took 10 seconds to adjust my camera and get oriented in an unfamiliar setting. I would need to return to the back of the line each time I wanted another 20 seconds.

Can you see my husband looking up at the lantern above? The display of lights and mirrors was mesmerizing. Enveloped by the warmth of the scene and feeling at one with the cosmos, we would have appreciated several minutes in this room. Unfortunately the Infinity show was far too finite to be fully enjoyed.

We were permitted plenty of time in a roomful of dots, however, covering everything from ceiling, furniture to floor. That's me, a speck among specks, sticking a few dots of my own onto the walls.

At the above display, visitors peered into boxes, their faces transported onto mirrors within a dizzying kaleidoscopic display.

Aside from the special exhibit, the art museum is a diverse gallery where one can linger. Many paintings are traditional and/or historical while others are experimental and unique in some way.

This huge mouse caught my attention. At first it seemed whimsical but on closer inspection, when I looked beneath the large paws, it was a bit unnerving.

The artist, Katarina Fritsch, once wrote about her work Man and Mouse, "This is an image of a completely unbalanced relationship in which two people are missing each other completely. It is a terrible image, but I find it funny as well."

I wondered about the relationship between artist and viewer. Art often requires contemplation but in Infinity Mirrors, only glimpses were granted by Kusama whose patrons were part of the palette, drifting in and out of her artwork plan.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms