Why'd They Put That In A Museum?
Art. Objects. Museums. Ideas. Questions. What happens when you put things on display and invite people in to look? Have you ever seen art on display and wondered, “Why’d they put that in a museum?” Museum curator Sarah Lees and author Beth Bacon start each conversation with one item, in one specific museum. We explore the object, its history, and the cultural ideas surrounding it. In the end, that object takes on new meaning as listeners discover the fascinating reasons it ended up in a museum.
Why'd They Put That In A Museum?
Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirror Rooms, Part 1
Yayoi Kusama is known as one of the most well-known living artists… that is, today she is well known. This is the first part of a 2-part episode that focuses on Kusama;s Infinity Mirror Rooms, particularly 'Infinity Mirror Room—The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away' located at The Broad Museum in Los Angeles. Today Kusama’s vibrant and playful interactive works seem to be “everywhere” from major museums to public spaces, to the internet feeds of trendy influencers. But did you know that Kusama toiled in obscurity for decades before being acknowledged by the art world and adored by millions? In this episode of “Why'd They Put That in a Museum?,” hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees discuss Kusama's long artistic journey and the many ways the art world dismissed her during her younger years. In the 1950’s and 1960’s Kusama was an under-appreciated, activist, counter-culture artist. Before that, she was an imaginative youth who had visual hallucinations. Stay tuned for the next episode (Yayoi Kusama, Infinity Mirror Rooms, Part 2) to learn how Kusama went from an unknown to an artist to a worldwide phenomenon.
© 2025 Why'd They Put That In A Museum podcast hosts Beth Bacon and Sarah Lees.
