Immersive art exhibition at the Hirshorn Museum by Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama focusing on repetition and patterns. On display from February 23 to May 14, 2017
The Infinity Mirrors exhibition at the Hirshorn Museum is the most talked about art exhibition in DC right now, and for good reason. Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama (a woman, which is fitting for Women’s History Month), has been playing with patterns and repetition in her art since the 1950s. Although her early works with phallic tubers may not appeal to everyone, it is hard to find an adventurer who wasn’t entranced by the mirrored infinity rooms that are designed to make you contemplate eternity, existence, and the afterlife.
Although the exhibit is free, the museum is using timed passes to manage the crowds and flow of visitors through the exhibit. Opening week saw wait times of several hours past visitors’ ticketed entry times as people spent more time inside the exhibit than anticipated. Foreseeing the popularity of this exhibition, museum staff spent two years preparing for the large turnout. Each week they attempt to get better at managing the flow of visitors by releasing fewer tickets for each entry time, having additional visitor attendants prepare each group before going into the rooms, and matching up solo adventurers with pairs to maximize the number of people in each viewing. Wait times are improving, but adventurers who are mentally prepared for the lines and who bring good attitudes will have a better experience. Pick up some coffee or hot chocolate from the pop-up cafe while you wait (just be sure to finish it before going inside since beverages are not allowed in the museum), and check out the “Pumpkin” statue nearby as a preview of what’s to come.
The first infinity room is Phalli’s Field, filled with phallic tubers covered in red polka dots. This was Kusama’s first mirrored room, which allowed her to achieve repetition beyond the physical limitations of space. At the artist’s recommendation, adventurers are given 15-30 seconds in each room.
The second room, Love Forever, is has two openings to look into. Multicolored lights and mirrors make the hexagonal shaped box a trippy light show for you and another adventurer to peek into.
The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away is a darkened room with colored lights hanging from the ceiling. With the door closed, the mirrors on all sides create the ethereal experience of being all alone in outer space.
In a drastic switch, the next two rooms utilize large pink balloons with black polka dots. Adventurers can step inside the first balloon to find mirrored walls and more balloons.
The second “balloon” is a large plastic ball (still pink with black polka dots) that adventurers can look into to find even more pink and black polka-dotted reflections.
My second favorite room is Aftermath of Obliteration of Eternity. Candles on strings hang throughout the room, creating a magical and otherworldly experience. Your reflection is barely visible in the dim lighting, which contributes to the feeling of obliteration.
The final mirrored room is All the Eternal Love I have for the Pumpkins. Given its popularity, I expected this room to feel cliche. However, the glowing gourds and black mirrors are truly transfixing. After taking photos the first time, I had to get back in line to enter again to just experience the feeling of being transported to another world where I was pleasantly lost in an eternal pumpkin patch. It is truly wondrous and indescribable.
After all the mirrored rooms, adventurers exit the exhibition through The Obliteration Room. Set up like a (rather large for DC) studio apartment, this room started out painted entirely white. Adventurers are each given a sheet of colored dot stickers, which are to be placed around the room in order to “obliterate” the original white space. It evoked a feeling of chaos for me that wasn’t entirely welcome after the serenity of the final two mirrored rooms, but most visitors seemed to enjoy the participatory nature of this part of the exhibition.
Other works by Kusama, including works on paper, soft sculptures (“accumulations”), as well as videos and items from the artist’s archive are interspersed between the infinity mirror rooms. This gives adventurers something to explore while waiting to enter the mirrored rooms.
This exhibition has prompted numerous essays about the role of social media in art. Some welcome the attention while others complain that visitors are too busy taking selfies to truly experience the art. The artist herself seems to welcome this aspect and the Hirshorn’s visitor attendants encourage the use of the hashtag #InfiniteKusama throughout the exhibit. I have had the opportunity to go through the exhibit both as part of a small group before the museum opened for the day as well as during the crowded regular hours. The limited time given to visitors in each room during regular hours was more prohibitive to my ability to connect with and experience the art than my desire to take photographs. If you are only able to visit once, I recommend choosing some rooms to photograph and others to just experience.
Adventurers with large bags or bulky jackets can store their items in the free lockers that are available in the basement level. If you are coming with friends, one person can wait in line while the others deposit their belongings in lockers – just don’t give up your coats until you know your group is close to getting in since the museum has been behind schedule. Enter through the revolving door on the Independence Avenue side of the museum and go down the escalator to the lower level.
For adventurers with disabilities, the mirrored rooms are not wide enough to allow for wheelchair access. The Hirshorn Museum worked with Kusama to create a virtual reality experience to allow these visitors to still experience the rooms. It is only available within the exhibition and only for visitors not otherwise able to enter the rooms due to a disability. Talk with a museum staff member if you need this option.
Can’t catch the exhibition in DC? It will be traveling for the next two years to Seattle, Los Angeles, Toronto (Canada), Cleveland, and Atlanta.
Special thanks goes to IGDC and the Hirshorn for the opportunity to attend the awesome before-hours Instameet at this exhibition!
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Address
Independence Avenue at 7th Street SW
Metro Station
- Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter (GR, YL)
- L’Enfant Plaza (OR, BL, SV, GR, YL)
- Smithsonian (OR, BL, SV)
Directions
The line for the exhibit forms at the back of the museum.
Cost
Free with timed pass
Tickets are released every Monday at 12:00 pm. The Hirshorn is reporting up to 60,000 visitors on the site trying to get tickets, so they go very quickly (within minutes!). If you are able to attend on a weekday, try the “best available” button to get tickets at any time. Tuesdays and Wednesdays also sell out less quickly, so are a good time to shoot for.
A limited number of same-day, timed passes are distributed each day at 10:00 pm at the museum. They are released on a first-come, first-served basis and the line usually starts forming around 9:00 am.
Hours
On view from February 23 – May 14, 2017
Open daily from 10:00 am – 5:30 pm
Length of Adventure
3-5 hours
The exhibition itself will likely only take an hour to view, but delays and long lines mean you should plan up to 5 hours to see everything.
