Kusama by Elisa Macellari is a unique graphic novel that portrays the life of a Japanese artist named Yayoi Kusuma. What I found intriguing is the art in which Kusuma's feelings, troubles and her sense of activism are captured in a peculiar form of illustrations and colours. The book is not suitable for children. However, anyone who wants to read about women who have impacted the world with their art should get this. I did find a bit hard to understand a few perspectives, but then, I wasn't acquainted with who Yayoi Kusuma is before I read the novel. Overall, it is a good read if you are interested in knowing about the artist, her art and activism after moving to America from Japan.

This graphic novel was so beautiful. The graphic novel tells the story of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama and it was eye opening to read this experience of her life. The art and illustrations depicting her life and work were so pretty and the color palette was perfect for the graphic novel. It was a quick and easy read and left me inspired to open up my mind and be creative.
Thank you GoodReads for this ARC.

Kusama by Elisa Macellari is a unique non-fiction graphic novel following an artistic woman and her life.

This was truly mesmerizing with an intriguing story and beautiful illustrations. The art style is unique and stands out, with bright colours yet simplistic styles. All the while looking complicated, which is an art all in itself.

I really liked seeing a non-fiction story about a woman hanging around in the graphic novels section. It showcased a really important story. I had never heard of Yayoi Kusama, and now I'm quite glad I did. It's something beautiful to look into. And, my goodness, she's 91 years old! How impressive! She was a strong advocator for mental health and her art was apart of her escape.

Three out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Laurence King Publishing for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Kusama is a biographical Graphic Novel of the artist Yayoi Kusama and her struggles throughout her life and her career.

I will start out by saying that Yayoi Kusama herself is an awesome and memorable artist. It was interesting to see and learn about her journey in a medium such as this. I thought the art used here was also quite intriguing and kept me entertained.

I do however think that the Graphic Novel came across a little bit too much like crossing lines on a list. "This happened and then she did this and then this happened". I was looking forward to having a more personal and perhaps more in-depth look into her art and life than that but that is hard to do in such a short manner. Seeing how the art was created and focusing more on the pieces would have been really interesting as well.

This graphic novel portrays the life of Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama and educates the reader on what it was like in Japan to be a woman that had a burning desire to become her true inner self, an artist. The artwork that is used in this graphic novel is well done, but it's worth noting that during the story of Kusama, there are some artwork that is not suitable for a younger reader. If you are into learning about great women in history, I recommend this graphic novel.

Ein Buch über eine sehr außergewöhnliche Künstlerin. Erst gefeiert, um dan vergessen zu werden, um dann erneut gefeiert zu werden. In der Graphic verschmelzen auf wunderbare Weise die Arbeit der Künstlerin mit dem Leben der Künstlerin. Nicht vergessen wird dabei die harte Anfangszeit ihres Schaffens und der immerbestehende Kampf um ihre mentale Gesundheit. Eine wunderbare Graphic Novel über eine außergewöhnliche Künstlerin.

Elisa Macellari did an incredible job bringing Yayoi Kusama's biography into life. I had absolutely no idea how massive Yayoi Kusama's influence was in that decade, This will surely inspire a lot of people into pursuing their passions no matter how hard it is. I hope that I could see her works up close in the future.

Art can be tricky to understand at the best of times. With so many different interpretations and meanings being presented, it's hard to know which writings to follow.
Personally I connect better with an artist's work by getting to know more about the artist and their creative process.

Kusama has some incredible notable works such as her infinity room installations and her famous passion for dots. By getting to know her life and influences in this beautifully simple colour palette of a graphic novel, I have new love and appreciation for her work. The subtle nods to Japanese design throughout the book and the delicate attention to detail in even the smallest of images enrich her story even more.

I would love to see an entire series on contemporary artists in such a thoughtful and accessible format.

This graphic novel would make Kusama proud. It is deep and reflective and shows up the story of a woman history is trying to forget. The art is a testament to Kusama's own style. My only gripe is that it's too short and I'm yearning for more. The author did an amazing job using creative freedom and the background art styles to tell the story. I recommend it to anyone who didn't get a chance to learn about this amazing woman in art history.

a beautifully rendered glimpse into the life and work of queen-of-the-polka-dot yayoi kusama.

the first time I remember seeing kusama's work was in my undergraduate college's art museum: a baby carriage covered in silver stuffed phallic "protrusions." the second was on naoshima, japan's "art island": a giant yellow japanese pumpkin covered in black polka dots of varying size. the third, and most spectacular of all, was at the hirshhorn museum in washington d.c.: the famous "infinity mirrors" exhibit. i left the exhibit convinced that yayoi kusama was a complete and utter genius.

the artwork of "kusama" is gorgeous: captivating line work brought to life with a minimal yet vivid color palette. elisa macellari does a great job at making the most of the inherent visual-medium-ness of graphic works by evoking kusama's style throughout the narrative, giving readers both previously familiar and unfamiliar with kusama's work a connection to it.

the narrative itself is clear, informative, and emotional. my only complaint is that "kusama" is far too short; with a good 80% of the narrative focusing on kusama's early life and work, it felt like the book should be at least twice as long!

ultimately, "kusama" is well-worth checking out. while it provides more substance to those unfamiliar with yayoi kusama and her work, there is still enough of interest to those who already enjoy her work and/or are familiar with her background. i look forward to seeing more of elisa macellari's work in the future.

thank you to netgalley and laurence king publishing for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been to Yayoi Kusama’s pop-up exhibit in Toronto and found myself appreciating the environment created by her art work. Little did I know of the gravity of her mental state that poured into her pieces during production. This graphic novel biography does a great job at summarizing her life’s journey and highlighting her dependence on her art to help her cope with the inner workings of her mind. This was beautifully drawn alongside a well-executed story line that does both Kusama’s experience and art style much justice.

I loved Macelarri's art in this book - it was delicate but expressive, and the use of colour was particularly meticulous. The art also complimented Kusama's own work, subtly changing alongside the developing styles of Kusama's work across time - a tricky balance to achieve when creating a graphic biography.
I found the book to be most effective when documenting the progression of Kusama's work, and its reception. I went into the book only knowing Kusama's more recent work, and knowing very little about her as person, and I perhaps would have liked a bit more insight into her actual life - the work is paid much more attention here than the everyday. This could also be my own tastes however - I'm much more prone to reading graphic autobiographies.
This is an insightful read, and gorgeous to simply appreciate visually - I would recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about Yayoi Kusama, though I may be tracking down her own autobiography to get a bit more detail.

Unfortunately, I didn't have any inkling about Yayoi Kusama. Thanks, Netgalley to introduce me to such an inspiring artist's struggle.
The artwork of this book is quite fascinating and I think the portrayal of her work in this book will amuse many artists. The only letdown I have felt are the texts. The plot seems unfinished and It does not give any background how Kusama had got the fame from her struggle.
Overall, it's a brief biography of Kusama with amusing artwork which you can read in almost one hour.

In this graphic novel we get to know who the artist Yayoi Kusama is. I haven't heard of their name, but I have seen some of their art pieces online.

I picked out this novel because of the color scheme on the cover. It follows throughout the whole story as we get glimpses of Kusama's past with family, work and struggles of life. After reading this, my first thought was..."wow, she's a badass' and my hope is to someday see her work in person. The art style was the best part of this graphic.
Unfortunately, the text didn't provide the same type of feeling as the art. It felt like different sections were missing words or at least scattered everywhere. I wished it would have dug a little deeper and had a constant story flow.

I would like to say thank you to netgalley for proving me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A graphic novel about the artist Yayoi Kusama. It was interesting to find out a little more about her and I thought the illustrations fit her art very well. An interesting way to read a biography embedded in the art.

Kusama, The Graphic Novel, is an attempt by Elisa Macellari to chronicle the influential artist's life journey from Nagano Prefecture in Japan to New York and back to Japan. She also explores Yayoi Kusama's mental disability and how much of it influenced her art.

WHY I LOVE THE BOOK
This is a book that showcases her contribution to the alternative movements that exists within the United States at the time. The author also reveals Kusama's ambitions and struggles within and outside those movements. I appreciate the inclusion of friends who helped her on her way as well as a peek into her artistic process.

DISLIKES
The illustration here does little to elevate the story, but I love the colour choices and the representations of Kusama's art.

WHO IS IT FOR
Kusama's fan will love this. Comics and graphic novel readers with a bent towards the biography genre might find something to chew on here.

Many thanks to Laurence King Publishing for a review copy.

Beautiful and eye-catching artwork. The personal history about a woman who I have always seen in the media but never really knew anything about. I want saw an exhibit of is artists absolutely captivated by it; I am glad that her story is being told in the medium.

"From rural Japan to international icon - Yayoi Kusama has spent her remarkable life immersed in her art.

Follow her incredible journey in this vivid graphic biography which details her bold departure from Japan as a young artist, her embrace of the buzzing New York art scene in the 1960s, and her eventual return home and rise to twenty-first-century super-fame."

I love biographic graphic novels. I adore ones about the art world and artists!

"Kusama", by Elisa Macellari, is a graphic novel exploring the life and art of contemporary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Originally published in Italian, it was translated into English by Edward Fortes.

Prior to reading this graphic novel I was not familiar with Kusama's art or life, so this was a very interesting experience. Kusama was born in the late 20's in a small town in Japan. Throughout her childhood and her young adulthood, her family opposed her painting and her love of art. In addition, it appears that they were also a dysfunctional family, with marital issues. Naturally this affected her mentally, and throughout her life her love-hate relationship with her parents affected not only her art, but also her approach to human relationships.

Apart from the tumultuous life, Kusama also dealt with the expectations that the patriarchal Japanese society at the time was setting for her. To be able to pursuit her love of art, she moved to New York City, where she became a prolific artist and got involved in political art movements against war.

The illustrations in the graphic novel depict her style very well. After finishing the graphic novel I felt compelled to research this artist more, and I was very happy to learn that she is still alive, in her 90s. A lot of artists are recognized after their death, so it is refreshing to see that Japan recognized her talent while she is still alive.

All in all, I enjoyed the experience of reading this graphic novel. I feel it could have gone a little more in depth in exploring Kusama's inspiration and her political principles. It did make me interested in researching more about her, though, so I need to give credit where credit is due. If you are a person interested in art, and the life of artists, I definitely recommend this one. It's a very quick read and a good introduction to Kusama's art and life.

I have been fascinated by Yayoi Kusama's art installations of the last few decades, but I wasn't fully familiar with her early work or influences. Reading this graphic biography was a delightful way to learn more about her. I worried that the book's illustrator wouldn't be able to reflect the power or scale of her art, but I was pleasantly surprised by the two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional art.