Matsumoto Museum of Art’s most popular attraction is their permanent Yayoi Kusama works. Kusama was born in Matsumoto and was able to find relief from her visual and auditory hallucinations through her artistic expressions. Walking through her display in the museum is like walking through her world. With a collection of works starting from childhood, to an apartment of glowing dots and rooms of infinite reflections the viewer gets a sense of the artist’s reality.
The father of a dear friend of mine was in town so I took him to see the museum. At first, he seemed very uninterested in the, “dot lady” but after entering the dotted apartment, he was blown away. He said, “It was like stepping into another world. I had never seen anything like that before.” While contemporary art may not appeal to everyone, this exhibit is fresh and rewarding.
Also in this sleek museum, built in 2002, are works of many Japanese artists who have either come from Matsumoto City or been inspired by its surroundings, including the landscapes of Kazuo Tamura and the calligraphy of Shizan Kamijo.
