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Label Text Yayoi Kusama’s family ran a seed and plant nursery in her native Japan, and the artist grew up surrounded by fields of plants. As a result, pumpkins, usually covered in the artist’s signature fields of polka dots, have appeared in her art since she was a young girl. “It seems pumpkins do not inspire much respect,” Kusama once said. “But I was enchanted by their charming and winsome form. What appealed to me most was the pumpkin’s generous unpretentiousness.” These words also seem an apt description of Pumpkin (L), an 8 foot bronze celebrating the undulating curves of a ripe pumpkin. Accentuated with trails of polka dots, the giant gourd looks like it might come from a fairy tale landscape. As is the case with most fairy tales, uncanny or even menacing undertones may be found in this sculpture, evident in its large scale, dark colors, and the vining, fertile nature of the pumpkin itself. Many viewers will make associations with playful Halloween celebrations and the autumn harvest, lending the work a familiarity and “unpretentiousness” that can be found in much of Kusama’s work.
Published References"John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park", Lea Rosson DeLong, ed., Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, 1923, pp. 92-95
DimensionsOverall: 94 7/8 × 92 1/2 × 92 1/2 in., 3306.9 lb. (241 × 235 × 235 cm, 1500 kg.)
Accession Number 2018.6
Classificationssculpture
EditionEdition of 8 and 2 APs (#6/8)
Provenance(Victoria Miro Gallery, London); Des Moines Art Center [purchased from the previous, 2016]

Images (1)

Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines

Audio (2)

Pumpkin (L)
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Photo Credit: Richard Sanders, Des Moines
Yayoi Kusama
1963
Photo Credt: Sheldan C. Collins, Courtesy of the Whitney Museum of Art
Yayoi Kusama
1963
Photo Credit: Sheldan C. Collins, Courtesy of the Whitney Museum of Art
Yayoi Kusama
1963
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Yayoi Kusama
1963
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
William Tucker
1985
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Judith Shea
1990
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Joel Shapiro
1985
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Barry Flanagan
1997
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Louise Bourgeois
1997
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Deborah Butterfield
2009
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Deborah Butterfield
1989
Photo Credit: Rich Sanders, Des Moines
Tony Cragg
1989