TOLEDO, Ohio — You've may have seen your social media filled with the mesmerizing views.
Now, you can experience Yayoi Kusama's 'Fireflies on the Water' for yourself at the Toledo Museum of Art.
The concept of infinity plays a big role in Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's work. The idea of something lasting forever, going on into eternity may seem hard to grasp. Yet Kusama's battle with mental illness puts it into perspective for all of us.
"When she was 10 years old, she began having these hallucinations that she described as auras and flashes of light and dense fields of dots that she would see in her field of vision," TMA Curator Lauren Applebaum explained. "So she's really trying to externalize that internal vision of hers."
This new exhibition uses 150 LED lights, two inches of water and mirrors to create the glowing firefly effect that's wowing visitors.
The room may only be 12 feet by 12 feet, yet the space feels endless once you step inside, and the mirrored door is closed.
Yellow, pink, and blue lights bounce off the mirrors, water, and ceiling.
Soak it all in, because you'll have the whole room to yourself for just one minute. Sixty seconds of quiet tranquility.
The timed ticket allows you to fully immerse yourself in the fireflies without crowds. Yet if you're wanting to bring in another person, say a significant other, think again. The museum only allows one person in at a time to protect the art in its narrow space.
Tickets cost $5.
If you want to come see this one, you can buy tickets on the museum website every Monday starting at 10 a.m.
If you'd like to learn more about the artist Yayoi Kusama and her life, you can watch documentary 'Kusama: Infinity' next month.
The film explores Kusama's journey from a conservative upbringing in Japan to her brush with fame in America in the 1960s. She rivaled Andy Warhol for press attention. The documentary concludes with the international fame Kusama has achieved within the art world.
Now in her 90s, Kusama has spent the last 30 years living in a mental institution in Japan.
The Toledo Museum of Art will screen the film Friday, January. 10, at 7 p.m. in the Little Theater for $7 for nonmembers, $5 for members, and $4 for students and military.