I'm a big fan of the artist Yayoi Kusama and her work so I had high expectations for this graphic novel about her life story. I received a copy via NetGalley. Firstly The illustrations are beautiful and this novel is visually stunning and complements Kusama very well. I just felt this novel was over far to quickly and could have been longer. The text was lacking in places and could maybe have been more factual. I loved learning about Kusama's life especially the relationship between her art and her mental health I just wish it was explored in further depth.

I am ashamed to say that as both and Artist and Art Historian I was never introduced to Yayoi Kusama's work. I love Pop Art and it inspires my own work, so this was on graphic novel memoir I will read over and over. Kusama has had one amazingly interesting life as a lot of the artists of her time have, I mean who could really organize and artistic orgy these days? If you are a fan of memoirs of graphic novel biographies, pick up this book and be immersed in the wonderful life and art of Yayoi Kusama.

In a word: Magnificent.

I confess to having only the slightest bit of knowledge about artist Yayoi Kusama before reading this, but I've come out the other side feeling like I was granted a stolen glimpse into the life of a genius.

Art is by its nature subjective, and people can debate beauty and personal tastes into infinity. What can't be denied, however, is that there are people who walk this Earth that are meant for more. People who were put here to live out their souls in their artworks - gifts to us mere mortals who could never hope to bring such emotion into the world.

Kusama is one such person, and this graphic novel captures her being exquisitely.

Every single page is crafted with exceptional care, from the dazzlingly beautiful illustrations and colouring, to the sparse yet infinitely deep text. Kusama's struggles and obsessions and drives sing out to you from the pages, and you're left wondering at it all.

Thank you to the author for this beautiful journey, and thank you to Netgalley for allowing me the opportunity to go on it.

Graphic novel biography of Yayoi Kusama. It's too close to hagiography. It drew most of its content from the artist's autobiography and artist-authorized biographic works. Some of the scenes in the comic are of events that have been disproven for years. I wanted more intellectual heft than a children's book.
I liked the art work. I still like Kusama. And i had no idea how many connections she had in the New York art scene.

Kusama is the biography in the form of a graphic novel, based on the life of world famous painter, sculptor and novelist - Yayoi Kusama.
Throughout this book, Elisa Macellari has displayed her love and respect for the artist and her work. The author has told the life story of Kusama in an interesting way with the help of beautiful illustrations

Before reading this book, I wasn't aware of Yayoi Kusama and her work and I would like to thank the author for introducing me to the work and life journey of Kusama.

The illustrations in the book are breathtaking. The book narrates the inspiring life story and struggles of Kusama from the time she was a little girl to the artist she is today. The book also covers the various mental disorders the artist had to go through and it is explained beautifully.

The book will make you fall in love with Yayoi Kusama and her inspiring life story. It is sure a treat for every art lover out there.

This book was beautiful. Yayoi Kusama's life is so interesting and the art in book certainly reflects that. The story is well-paced and the art is eclectic. This book was a joy to read.

I'd never heard of Yayoi Kusama before reading this, but she seems like a fascinating artist, and it's a shame more people don't know about her. As far as I know, this seemed to be a good overview of how she got started and created some of her most famous art, and the art in this book worked well with the style.

Many thanks to Laurence King Publishing Ltd and NetGalley for providing an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

I had no idea about Yayoi Kusama before reading this book. NetGalley has introduced me to such an amazing artist.

I loved the artwork in this book a lot. It is very fascinating and the text could have been a bit developed. The plot follows the life of the artist and how she attained fame after going through several personal struggles. I liked the colour scheme in this book a lot and it resonated with the artist.

Overall, it's a brief art biography of Kusama with excellent artwork which you can read in a very short span of time. This book definitely helped to know more about her.

Se tem um formato que eu amo para ler biografias é o de Graphic Novels, ainda mais quando se trata da biografia de algum artista.

Graphic Novels têm esse grande apelo visual que cativa seus leitores a mergulharem nas páginas dos mais variados temas; e quando eles retratam a vida de um artista, é maravilhosa a concepção de sua pessoa e obra também sob o olhar artístico de seu ilustrador.
A GN conta com breve apresentação pela própria ilustradora Elisa Macellari, cujo texto se intitula, em livre tradução: “Kusama: Obsessão, amor e arte”. Nele, Macellari fala de seu fascínio pela artista de longa data e diz que, embora já admirasse o trabalho de Kusama, desconhecia toda sua obra produzida nas décadas de 1960 e 1970. Confesso que essa informação já me surpreendeu também, porque ignorava sua longa trajetória como artista. Acredito que Macellari quis, com esse belo trabalho contar a história de Kusama não apenas por compaixão ao seu sofrimento, como ela diz nesse breve texto, mas para trazer a conhecimento de um público ainda maior — como eu — não apenas a Kusama que hoje tanto se fala e conhece, cujas exibições e instalações requerem agendamento ou demandam paciência nas longas filas de espera para apenas alguns segundos de imersão, mas também seus percalços, suas dores, seus 20 anos de hiato, período em que foi completamente esquecida pelo público, e levar, assim, empatia aos leitores dessa GN.

Seja qual for o intuito que levou à produção desta obra, sinto que aprendi muito com ela, e passei a admirar também o trabalho de Kusama, que agora, com certeza, verei com outros olhos e com um novo fascínio. As ilustrações de Macellari são belíssimas, com traços simples e cores que refletem inegavelmente a vida e obra da própria Kusama.
O que eu acho fantástico da vida de Kusama é sua batalha eterna. Se sua obra é permeada de círculos, não os limito à sua visão preenchida por bolas decorrentes da sua esquizofrenia, mas também vejo neles representada sua própria interpretação da vida. Ainda que seu lar não tenha sido um ambiente amoroso, Kusama encontrou alguma forma de fazer as pazes com a memória de seus pais e lhes ser grata por terem-na preparado para “as luzes e sombras da vida e da morte”.

Recomendo muito a leitura dessa GN para quem é amante do gênero em si e também a todos que queiram conhecer um pouco mais sobre essa grande artista. Uma leitura deliciosa, repleta de cores, e com uma bela e emocionante reflexão sobre a vida, que nos leva também a experimentar um pouco da obsessão de Kusama.

Yayoi Kusama is an artist that I wasn’t aware that I knew, I’d seen pictures of some of her work in the tome-like books that were in the rooms I took GCSE Art & Design, I remember seeing pictures of her mirrored balls, and yet I’d never retained her name. It was only through reading Elisa Macellari’s lovingly put together biography on the Japanese artist that I was able to put a name to the images I’d seen in my adolescence. More than that, it wonderfully combines the artwork with the person in a way that brings Kusama’s whole life together as one.

Kusama’s story isn’t a simple one. Her mother disapproved of her artistic nature, her father was an adulterer and her home life was such that she was encouraged to move away, in fact, to leave the country and pursue her dream of being an artist. What developed when she landed in America is her growth as a key part of the hippy movement of the 60s and her working amongst such figures as Dali and Warhol and her relationships she held with Georgia O’Keefe. Macellari goes to some effort to show both the development of Kusama’s art and the maturation of her political idea’s and how the two would meld into the large variety of disciplines that she worked in, from painting through to performance art, all the while trying to push the boundaries of what is acceptable.

However, despite her successes, her mother never accepted her work and felt it brought shame upon the family.

There’s a personal element to the book though, Macellari talks openly in the introduction of Kusama’s influence on her and that’s apparent in the visuals of the book which are peppered with polka dots and infinity nets.

However, this isn’t a thorough biography of Kusama, more an illustrated annotation of her journey from Japan, to New York and back to Japan, with key moments in her career paving the way, it serves as an introduction into her life and work and it does that with a fondness and warmth that’s intoxicating.

I really wanted to like this book; I've seen some of Kusama's recent aesthetically beautiful pieces (eg Infinity Mirror Rooms) and was excited to find out more. I love graphic novels and I find the medium has fresh potential for nonfiction, so I had high hopes.

Unfortunately, the book is empty. It's not very long at all (~120 pages) and while reading it I repeatedly had the feeling that I was experiencing (and I admit I cringe to write this) an illustrated Wikipedia article. The author/artist lists several sources at the end, from articles to Kusama's own autobiography, and so I would have naturally expected a deeper dive including some specifics of Kusama's life, perhaps slightly tailored to fit a narrative style, but I didn't really get any of that here. It was genuinely as though I were reading a bullet-pointed summary of Kusama's life over some art.

Elements of Kusama's life are glossed over-- the book discusses her extreme aversion to sex, but never why she feels that way, particularly when anecdotes or quotes would be most effective-- and nothing really leads into anything else. The book hints at a rivalry with Warhol when he 'steals' some of her models, but never follows up on that, leaving me unsure whether they had a large conflict in real life or nothing at all. But if nothing, why mention it...? And so on went the story.

This is a nitpick, but so much of her art was not even mentioned, let alone explained... the blurb I read purposefully called upon her 'Instagrammable' art, which would imply some attention to more recent pieces, but the book lacked even that. Of course, artists' biographies don't have to include every piece, God forbid, but if you're going to mention her most famous recent ones why wouldn't you... discuss them...?

While we're at it, the text itself switched tense often. Once it switched between past and present across a two-page spread. I feel weird even bringing this up. I really wanted to like this book, and then... all of these problems... and I leave feeling guilty for not enjoying myself, which is not how anybody wants to feel after reading a book. This review, I'll be honest, is depressing me.

I honestly don't think this book is worth reading, which is extremely unfortunate to say. It was like reading a book that had had several pages yanked out in random places: strangely contextless and lacking substance. I don't feel as though I learned much about Kusama, and though the bonus star here is for the art, the book simply doesn't have anything that makes up for what it lacks.

As far as a biography goes, it does a really great job of detailing her "origin story" to better understand her life as an artist, and who she is today. I had no idea she was friends with Dalí as well as Georgia O'Keefe!! It makes so much sense though!!

The book also gave me a new understanding of her mental health and how it has affected her work, which is something I knew a little about before, and now after learning more about her history I have a greater appreciation for her work.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who has been to one of her countless installations around the world! She truly is more than just a 'dotty' artist.

"No pain could ever discourage me. It's how I was born and how I have lived; it's how I'll continue to live."

“Kusama” shows a star will strive to shine bright (Opinions portion of Article)

The book is an interesting mix of prose and panels as Macellari writes an introduction to readers explaining her fascination with the Japanese artist. She then illustrates the difficult life of Kusama but presents them in a gentle way without using harsh colors. She emulates Kusama’s use of patterns and space by both recreating scenes of the artist’s works and mental imagery. While many would want to learn more about Kusama’s past, the graphic novel contains several scenes with sexual content and psychological trauma. Reader’s discretion is advised.

In the 1940s and 1950s, mental health issues were often ignored. A Japanese artist named Kusama heard voices, had panic attacks, and suffered from hallucinations. Why? It is a chicken and an egg question. Did Kusama’s mental health issues drive her mother to be strict? Or did her mother’s harsh discipline cause Kusama’s mental health issues?

Regardless, Kusama’s tale is an inspiring tale of resilience. She actually used her obsessive compulsive disorder to create incredible detailed paintings using dots. Sort of large, very large, scale pointillism, at least at first. She was one of the first female Japanese artists on the modern pop-art scene. She was a contemporary of Andy Warhol. Remarkable, she is still alive living in Japan.

As Kusama finds her style, the artwork in book begins to move toward it too. There are some rather explicit Happenings including LGBT scenes in the second half making this book inappropriate for children. Otherwise, it is an interesting look into someone’s productive life even while dealing with mental illness. 4 stars!

Thanks to Laurence King Publishing and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I must admit I did not know of Yayoi Kusama's work, so thank you so much to NetGalley for introducing me to her story. I do wish that the story would have gone more into context of her climb to her fame from her initial struggle. However I found the graphic novel a piece of work within itself, with beautiful use of color and line - just fascinating. Her battle with mental illness was very interesting and handled well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Laurence King Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

My thanks to Laurence King Publishing for a temporary digital review copy via NetGalley of ‘Kusama: the Graphic Novel’ by Elisa Macellari. It was translated from the Italian by Edward Fortes.
This is part of the publisher’s Graphic Lives series.

This graphic novel chronicles the incredible life of Yayoi Kusama, from her early life in rural Japan, where her desire to become an artist was met with great resistance from her family, then her departure from Japan to the USA in 1958 where she became part of the vibrant New York art scene of the 1960s.

It doesn’t shy away from depicting the more controversial aspects of her work, such as the public ‘happenings’ that shocked people. In addition, there is her lifelong struggle with mental illness. This eventually led to her return to Japan in 1973, where since 1977 she has voluntarily lived in a psychiatric hospital. After almost two decades of relative obscurity, even though she never stopped creating, she emerged once more in the 1990s and 21st Century to worldwide super-fame. It is quite an inspiring journey.

I felt that Elisa Macellari did an excellent job of depicting Kusama’s life and art as well as capturing the essence of her fragile psyche. She uses a limited palette to great effect; focusing upon shades of red and green, black, and white with the occasional purple. Some of the images were surreal and a little disturbing, highlighting the fractures within. Others were very cute.

Macellari drew on multiple sources to create this graphic novel that she lists at the end of the book. Chief among them was ‘Infinity Net’, Kusama’s autobiography, that I now hope to read.

I recall hearing of Kusama’s work during my study of art history in the module on the emergence of performance art in the 1960s. The body art and huge polka dots made a lasting impression even if we didn’t study her in detail.

I enjoyed the playful cameos that Elisa Macellari included of other artists: Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali and Georgia O’Keefe. I was surprised that Kusama’s fellow innovative performance artist, Yoko Ono, who came to prominence in the same period wasn’t mentioned though apparently they were not on friendly terms. Art gossip!

Overall, an excellent introduction to the life and work of this important modern artist. After reading it I went in search of more details of Kusama’s work, which for me demonstrates that Elisa Macellari has been successful in her intention to bring Kusama to a wider audience.

Highly recommended for art lovers.

I admit I did not know much of Yayoi Kusama before stumbling on this book. I had seen her art around the internet, but never stopped taking an interest in the artist. So superficial of me! This book was, therefore, incredibly important in showing me the life and struggles of an incredible artist. It was, to me, incredibly sad to discover how prominent her art had been in the New York of 1960s and how forgotten she was in the following decades.

The artwork of this graphic novel is incredible! It is a work of art of its own, at the same time describing magnificently the artistic life of Kusama.

The whole novel revolves around Kusama’s mental illness, and how her fragile mental health has given birth to her art, how her art is a form of self-medication for her. I just wished that this novel was way longer. In little more than 100 pages, I felt that so much more could have been said about this complex artist. But at the same time, I feel that everything was told in a very graceful way and that everything which is needed to know to fully understand this artist and her art was perfectly told.

I would like to thank Laurence King Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

"You see these empty hands? One day they'll hold everything I want."

I did four years as an art major, and never once heard the name Yayoi Kusama.

That's a crying shame, 'cause she's had a fascinating life. She hung out with Dali and Warhol, created installations, and even staged a few orgies - in the name of art, of course, as she was personally disgusted by sex. But, oh, she had inner demons that drove her to create, an issue that this graphic novel explores quite beautifully.

Macellari follows Kusama from her unhappy girlhood in Japan, through her rise to fame in sixties, to the current day. (The artist is now 91.) It's a fascinating look at both the art world and mental illness, and the artwork is stunning. I love the limited palette, and the repeating patterns.

This book is a work of art in itself.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!
This is a really great graphic novel about Kusama! I had only seen some of her art before but was not familiar with her story. This gave me a great insight into her as a person, both from her upbringing in Japan, her struggle with art in the US, her career taking off, and her declining mental health. The pictures here really help the storytelling, with both showing the reader the various art she has done, but also to connect it directly to her state of mind outside of the art.
Really glad I read this!

This graphic novel about the artist Yayoi Kusama is both interesting and upsetting at the same time. I found it fascinating since I had never heard of her and I was sad that she had such difficult mental/life issues. It’s a definite good read for those who are interested in artists and their lives.