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Phallic Girl

Yayoi Kusama Japanese
1967
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
In the 1960s, Kusama often covered objects, furniture, and human figures with a proliferation of phallic protrusions. This female mannequin is almost obliterated, conceptually and visually, through the addition of these cushioned forms. As a result, the mannequin becomes a proxy for the artist consumed by her phallocentric phobias and neuroses. Through her use of penile encrustation, Kusama also externalizes sex in a manner that can be seen as a feminist counterpoint to the eroticism of the female mannequin often explored by male artists. The protuberant accumulations seem almost talismanic and are formally reminiscent of ancient sculptures of goddesses with multiple breasts.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Phallic Girl
  • Artist: Yayoi Kusama (Japanese, born Matsumoto, 1929)
  • Date: 1967
  • Medium: Mannequin with mixed media
  • Dimensions: 61 × 34 1/4 × 16 15/16 in., 352.7oz. (155 × 87 × 43 cm, 10 kg approx)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Collection Caroline de Westenholz
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Yayoi Kusama
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art