Japanese visual artist Yayoi Kusama died on August 14, 2024, at the age of 97. She had a complex relationship with sex and, despite exploring nudity in her works, revealed in an interview that, due to early childhood experiences, she found sexual organs threatening.
In the 1960s, influenced by the hippie movement, Kusama staged a series of happenings critical of the Vietnam War at locations such as the Wall Street financial district and the Statue of Liberty. Under her command, volunteers undressed and she painted colorful dots on their bodies.
Despite her conflicted relationship with sexuality, Kusama went so far as to propose sex to American president Richard Nixon in exchange for ending the war in Southeast Asia. In an open letter addressed to the occupant of the White House, who resigned after the Watergate scandal in 1974, she wrote that it was not possible to eradicate violence by using violence.
