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ON PUMPKINS
Yayoi Kusama

Pumpkins are lovable and their
wonderfully wild and humorous atmosphere
never ceases to capture the hearts of people.
I adore pumpkins.
As my spiritual home since childhood,
and with their infinite spirituality,
they contribute to the peace of mankind across the world
and to the celebration of humanity. And by doing so,
they make me feel at peace.
Pumpkins bring about poetic peace in my mind.
Pumpkins talk to me.
Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins.
Giving off an aura of my sacred mental state,
they embody a base for the joy of living,
a living shared by all of humankind on the earth.
It is for the pumpkins that I keep on going.

Quote from Kusama (Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama, 2011):

“‘Pumpkin head’ was an epithet used to disparage ugly, ignorant men, and the phrase ‘Put eyes and a nose on a pumpkin’ evoked a pudgy and unattractive woman. It seems that pumpkins do not inspire much respect. But I was enchanted by their charming and winsome form. What appealed to me most was the pumpkin’s generous unpretentiousness. That and its solid spiritual base.”