Previously unbeknownst to us, Oberlin (an institution beloved to the Pram Museum family), numbers a notable piece of pram art among its collections. May we present Baby Carriage, by Yayoi Kusama?
Unfortunately, this small image almost certainly dims the impact of the work itself. Those — what? curlicues? dreadlocks? — well, let us say, protuberances, represent dozens of phalli. The referential significance is clear.
Said phalli are constructed of fabric, and were originally made from “red fabric with white spots as well as black and white striped fabric”. After its original exhibition in 1964, the artist altered that colorful landscape though the judicious use of silver paint, which, I’m guessing, must have had the rather surprising effect of subduing the work.
Kusama also added several stuffed kangaroos to the sculpture. “Their inclusion further emphasizes the disturbing juxtaposition of the sexualized phallic forms and the childhood associations evoked by the baby carriage”, according to Oberlin’s Allen Memorial Art Museum’s web page.
Academia. Ya gotta love it.
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