It’s a testament to Yayoi Kusama’s worldwide acclaim – her infinity rooms and pumpkins are ubiquitous, as is her signature, polka-dotted style – that her work will be featured in one of the world’s biggest parades this year (and you’re not likely to miss it if you’re there).
Love Flies up to the Sky is the name of the balloon, designed by the Japanese artist’s studio and built by Macy’s balloon specialists, that will fly above the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York on November 28.
A rendering of the artwork shows a red sun with a freckled face and characteristic white-polka-dotted tentacles.
At a reported 30 feet long (just a bit longer than a London bus), 36 feet wide, and 34 feet tall, it features over 300 large-scale polka dots and will require around 20 people to walk it around the parade route.
The choice of Kusama to design the balloon is a success for female contemporary artists in the mainstream, as the parade’s Blue Sky Gallery program – which began in 2005 – has only featured male artists up until this year. Previous balloons have been designed by Jeff Koons, KAWS, Takashi Murakami, and in memorial of Keith Haring.
It’s also a timely choice though, since Kusama will have just debuted a new infinity room at New York’s David Zwirner Gallery and is due to open her first participatory exhibition in the New York Botanical Garden next year.