Harvey Milk Terminal 1

CURRENTLY NOT ON VIEW
Yayoi Kusama, High Heels for Going to Heaven

High Heels for Going to Heaven 2014

Yayoi Kusama
b.
fiberglass-reinforced plastic, stainless steel, and urethane paint
Left shoe: 61 x 29 1/2 x 37 3/8 "; Right shoe: 49 5/8 x 27 1/2 x 37 7/8"
SFAC 125
SFAC

Yayoi Kusama is considered one of the most important Japanese artists of her generation. A leader of the avant-garde, she has been associated with many of the major mid-20th century art movements. Throughout her career she has worked in a wide variety of media, including painting, collage, sculpture, performance art, and environmental installations. The artist has used shoes as a recurring motif throughout her practice, and their presence here recalls her long-standing interest in fashion. In the 1960s she was called the “polka dot princess,” due to her signature motif, which she describes by saying “a polka dot has the form of the sun, which is a symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm. Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. Polka dots become movement .... Polka dots are a way to infinity.”