Chips on a Sandwich | no. 30 | POLKA DOTS. . .
‘Our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos. Polka dots are a way to infinity. When we obliterate nature and our bodies with polka dots, we become part of the unity of our environment’.
-Yayoi Kusama
THE POLKA DOT PRINCESS: Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist who incorporates dots into her work-- from paintings to sculpture to installations. Why so many dots? Kusama recalls a hallucination when she was a young girl: she was in an endless field and a sea of flower heads/dots began to blur and she seemingly disappeared into them. The dots stuck. She's notorious for her infinity rooms-- hundreds of LED lights in mirror-lined rooms-- that create an endless space one could get lost in.
Life is the Heart of a Rainbow | Getty Images
THE PATTERN: Long before Yayoi Kusama was born in 1929 polka dots were part of fashion: from flamenco dancers to the spotted dresses in polka halls it's been an iconic pattern. Lucille Ball, Marilyn Monroe and Minnie Mouse were/are all fans.
THE VILLAIN: Polka dots aren't just for dresses: enter Polka-Dot Man aka Mister Polka-Dot a Batman bad guy. Small time criminal Abner Krill-- alias Polka-Dot Man-- battled Batman and Robin a few times early on in the comic series. Those dots weren't just a fashion statement, each had the potential to turn into a weapon or escape device-- like the time he procured a buzz saw from one and lobbed it at The Dark Knight (huh?).
THE PLANT: OK, so the polka dot plant is more splotched than dotted but I'm going with it. Also known as freckle face, the whimsical plant can be found in shades of white, pink, green and red. (Then there's Begonia Maculata which truly is polka dotted.)
AND A BOOK: My son loves the book Press Here by Herve Tullet, the "Prince of Preschool." This interactive book tells a story with simple dots that will engage and delight kiddos. No need to swipe a screen.
