Before she became a world-famous pop artist, Yayoi Kusama posed for photographer Tom Haar in New York in a short, butterfly-sleeved dress, woven hat and heels. In place of her signature red wig, she sported bangs and long hair that flowed past her shoulders.
The photo was taken in 1971 in Kusama’s apartment and studio space in the East Village when she was still a struggling artist. It’s just one of 15 images in the exhibit “Japanese Artists in New York — 1971: Photographs by Tom Haar” on display through May 13 at fishcake in Kakaako.
“The basic idea for the show was just to introduce these artists in New York at that time in the early ’70s,” Haar said. “I was very interested in what they were doing. It was a self-assigned photo project quite early in my career … and I was fortunate to photograph Kusama.”
The dress, hat and floor around Kusama’s feet are covered in small, bulbous shapes — phallic symbols that would become a recurring motif in her art installations. (Kusama is one of the artists participating in the Honolulu Biennial, now underway.)
While some of the artists — a mix of musicians, painters, sculptors and photographers that also include Minoru Kawabata, Shigeko Kubota and Masaaki Sato — needed direction, Kusama knew just what to do, according to Haar.
“I didn’t have to say much,” he said. “She would just pose herself and create the situation for me to photograph.”
Haar, 75, began working as a freelance photographer in New York in 1968 soon after receiving a master of fine arts in design from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Born and raised in Japan, he befriended a circle of Japanese artists living in New York and began a photo essay capturing their creative lives.
The photographs were taken in lower Manhattan, SoHo and an artists’ community called Westbeth, which is west of Greenwich Village. Haar lived at Westbeth during most of his years in New York City.
He also captured an image of Yoko Ono and John Lennon with artist Nam June Paik’s “TV Cello,” which is being played by concert cellist Charlotte Moorman.
“It was a lively time, not just for Japanese artists but others as well,” Haar said.
The exhibit, which includes several photographs of Kusama, was made possible with support from the Ishibashi Foundation of Japan and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii.
—
“JAPANESE ARTISTS IN NEW YORK — 1971: PHOTOGRAPHS BY TOM HAAR”
Photo essay of Japanese artists living in New York, including international celebrity Yayoi Kusama
>> Where: Fishcake, 307-C Kamani St.
>> When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays through May 13
>> Info: 593-1231, fishcake.us
