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SYMPTOMS | PATHOMECHANISMS | HISTORY

Symptoms

Transitory aura symptoms

Persistent aura symptoms

Internet survey

German version

Def. pers. aura

Worsening factor...

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VS and spiritual...

Persistent aura and spirituality

VS and arts

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Psychological experience

Author: Klaus Podoll, Markus Dahlem, Sofia Greene	21. February 2007
Edited by: Klaus Podoll, Markus Dahlem, Sofia Greene

Visual snow and arts

Although some aspects of persistent visual snow and related symptoms occurring in persistent aura without infarction or HPPD may act as an impediment to art making (as evident from the testimonies of Ellie, INzi82, ZantzSinacra, dazeavy, Victor, winklemouse, mistermaxime, summer30, augenfilm, bread, NN), the experience has also been used as a source of artistic inspiration for pieces of visual arts (Sofia Greene, Martin Kellerman, masqua, b c c runner, Teekla, Stacey, omouc, socko, papanague, SamyFire, Sarah A, lost, nibart, qwezz, Janey, alexxx, IanKC, ohCRICKETS, Victor, Dion Shore, Doplegager, aw24, Randall Munroe's xkcd comic, PJ, HenrikKJ, marcus rafferty, ChelleWMCN, Cyanide and Happiness, TZA, Amy Stoshak), writing (Conrad Aiken, SpeedStick, GRN, SopuliSusie, Sarah A), poems (Gyps Kindra, MS, laurentius-rex, Ouroboros, starrant, ChelleWMCN, Sarah A, lilights, jruddy) and songs (SamyFire, AFI, jruddy, indigochild811), respectively.

Sarah A [subject #432], Patrick the Somnambulist, 2008 (see here) [more]

One artist (lapetiteflower), a "vs lifer" acquainted with visual snow for as long as she can remember, considered that "the way I perceive things and these experiences have had an impact on the way I create things and my preferences in visual and written art", respectively. So it comes as no surprise that portraits of veiled women by Belgian symbolist Fernand Khnopff (1858-1921) or American fine art photographer Susan Fenton belong to the artwork most beloved by her. Similarly, gracefulworld, a persistent vs sufferer for 4 1/2 weeks, chose a girl's portrait of Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki covered by sparkling stars as his Yuku avatar because he "just liked the picture".

Yayoi Kusama - Kusama's Self Obliteration (1967) Part 1 (see here), Part 2 (see here) and Part 3 (see here)

80-year-old Japanese artist "Yayoi Kusama has had a hallucinatory obsession with dots for as long as she can remember. Throughout [her childhood] all she saw was dots. Vast fields covered with dots, people wearing polka dots, trees wearing polka dots." (Katayama, 2008). According to Kusama, she "began painting when I was 10... I recall these ecstatic moments, like an illusion, seeing all those polka dots scattered around. As I grew up I continued to concentrate on drawing thousands of polka dots... I worked on these pieces all day, every day. I kept on presenting my works with polka dots or infinity nets... And then I created pieces in which a desk, the floor, the ceiling, and the walls were covered in polka dots..." (Celant, 2005) According to the artist, "My art originates from hallucinations only I can see. I translate the hallucinations and obsessional images that plague me into sculptures and paintings" (Turner, 1999). According to Kusama, "Polka dots symbolize disease" (Turner, 1999).

Takako Matsumoto's documentary "Near Equal Yayoi Kusama: I Adore Myself", 2008.

On May 3, 2008, Klaus Podoll delivered an invited lecture on Yayoi Kusama's persistent aura during a workshop on art and illness organised by Matthias Bormuth as part of the celebration of the Jasper year at the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Germany (Podoll, 2009). According to art critic Sir Herbert Read (1964), "This image of strange beauty presses on our organs of perception with strange persistence", echoeing the artist's own experience of persistent aura with visual hallucinations of dots and nets and varieties of visual perseveration including palinopsia and illusory visual spread (Podoll et al., 2004a,b) ever since her childhood.

Stacy Alexander, Reading About Yayoi Kusama, 2008. "This is for Day #4 of the Jen Worden Art Challenge. It is me... reading about Yayoi Kusama, one of my favorite artists. I have written an entry about her on my art blog at stacyalexander.blogspot.com." © 2008 Stacy Alexander

Augenrauschen

To see a German multimedia artist's website entitled Augenrauschen (the German term for "visual snow") click here.

References

Borggren G. The Myth of the Mad Artist: Works and Writings by Kusama Yayoi. Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies 2001; 15: 10- 43 [PDF]
Celant G. Yayoi Kusama: the unforgettable, remarkable life and work of Yayoi Kusama, a visionary who makes one believe in the real power of art. BNET, June 2006.
Katayama L. Yayoi Kusama's Obsessive Dots Hint at the Future of the Human Mind. io9.com Website, January 2, 2008.
Podoll K, Schneider F, Hayashi T. Yayoi Kusama's entoptic art. NY Arts Magazine 2004a; 9 (no. 5/6):30-31.
Podoll K, Waniek S, Schneider F. Yayoi Kusama: Zaczelo sie halucynacja. [Yayoi Kusama: It started from hallucination. In Polish] Przew Lek 2004b; 3: 106-108. [PDF]
Podoll K. Die Künstlerin Yayoi Kusama als pathographischer Fall. In: Bonanni G, Bormuth M, Schulz R (eds). Wahrheit ist, was uns verbindet. Wallstein, Göttingen 2009.
Read H. Statement on the occasion of Yayoi Kusama's "New Art" show at Wesleyan University, Middleton, Connecticut, March 1-22, 1964.
Turner G. Yayoi Kusama. Bombsite, 1999.

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