Contract - November 2012 - (Page 45)

An exclusive collection designed by Yayoi Kusama for Louis Vuitton is anchored by color in the design for a pop-up boutique at Selfridges (opposite and right). Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama puts the luxury brand on the spot at Selfridges in London By Emily Hooper Photography courtesy of Louis Vuitton With endorsements from Andy Warhol and Donald Judd, Japanese painter, sculptor, and writer Yayoi Kusama made a name for herself in the New York art scene in the 1960s. Art critics were drawn to the psychedelia of her early work, with her counter-culture staging of “Grand Orgy to Awaken the Dead” at the Museum of Modern Art where she and a handful of nude performers adorned the fountain of the museum’s sculpture garden. But the obsessions that gave birth to Kusama’s aesthetic—her iconic polka dot pattern, which communicates her vision of life as “a dot lost among millions of other dots”—compelled her return to Japan and commitment to life in a mental institution. There, she continues creating works through the course of therapy and of late has been showing and collaborating with cross-disciplinary artists and brands. Most recently, she collaborated with luxury brand Louis Vuitton, which resulted in an exclusive collection of shoes, accessories, and clothing emblazoned with her dot motif. In anticipation of the collection’s launch, and celebration of Kusama’s recent high-profile exhibitions at the Tate Modern in London and the Whitney Museum in New York, the fashion house also tapped the artist to decorate a series of windows for its stores worldwide. One of the most impressive displays is a pop-up boutique and windows at London department store, Selfridges. The artist styled 24 windows— the largest number in the store’s history to be designed by a single collaborator—that stayed on view through the official launch of the Louis Vuitton collection. Street side observers are first drawn into the rhythm of Kusama’s world with patterns that flash like an old Morse telegraph pulse replicating dot, upon dot, upon dot. Her obsession with infinity is expressed by dots and circles—shapes with no end. Within Selfridges, the concept store itself bears the artist’s stamp: The Louis Vuitton boutique is defined by a circular footprint that is framed by a dotperforated cage. Within it, a googol of polka dots covers the floors and punches through white-painted display fixtures. Wayfinding is undefined, allowing visitors to explore the space organically. Pumpkin theme morphs into sea urchins Her collection for Louis Vuitton still manages to stand out amidst the dot matrix with vivid red, yellow, green, and blue palettes that form dot-pattern stencils revealing the Louis Vuitton monogram pattern in the negative spaces; in some products, the positive and negative spaces are reversed. Her hallmark pumpkin motif, a prominent theme in her sculptural work, morphs into a sea urchin shell shape to form various floor and hanging fixtures. The hanging pendants provide soft illumination and a dappled effect over vignettes where legs of pants and arms of jackets extend like tentacles. “By boldly combining key characteristics of two forward-thinking retailers with an extraordinary international artist, the result produces something new and completely unique for the customer,” says Linda Hewson, head of creative at Selfridges. “[This collaboration] brings luxury and high art to the high street and appeals to a broad audience from young to old to international.” c contract

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - November 2012

Contract - November 2012
Contents
Editorial
Industry News
Product Focus: Getting Crafty
Product Briefs: Seating and Carpet
HyundaiCard Air Lounge
Orla Kiely
Vintry Fine Wines
Louis Vuitton Selfridges
Diptych Leadenhall Market and Bleecker Street
Camper Granada
Practice: The Future in Technology and Experiential Interiors
Designers Select: Tables and Casegoods
Sources
Ad Index
Small Project: A Lighting Installation Emphasizes Decadence in a Brussels

Contract - November 2012