Despite the 150 years and thousands of miles between their homelands Madame Clicquot and Yayoi Kusama have a lot in common. Both are entrepreneurs who began their journeys in their late twenties, both are modern women, writers, fighters and pioneers in their respective industries. Madame Clicquot known as the ‘Grande Dame of Champagne’ and Yoyai Kusama known as the ‘Grande Dame of Art’ have parallel lives that bring them together. Both strong, brave and modern women who have defined their times are revolutionary women who inspire, redefine stereotypes and have helped to change and revolutionize the world.
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Yayoi Kusama
Kusama, was born in 1929 and is known for her revolutionary artistic creations left Japan for Seattle at 28. By 1952 she had painted and exhibited 270 pieces and even had her first solo exhibition in New York by 1959. For the majority of early artistic years Kusama was a fighter and was penniless while restlessly painting. By the 1960’s she was one of the very few female artists to make a living from her work. By 1968, she became a brand and founded Kusama Enterprises where she expanded art to fashion and music. She had also performed and directed in the multi-award winning film Kusama’s Self-Obliteration and in 2016 she was awarded the Order of Culture one of the most prestigious recognitions in Japan and in 2017 the Yayoi Kusama Museum opened in Tokyo, Japan.
When one learns that Kusama used her artistic passion and art to overcome her fears and mental illness one can easily understand that art and self creative expression is something that is both therapeutic and spiritual as well as necessary in drastic human growth and understanding. She uses art as an anecdote for healing and self-medication and since her early years Kusama has experienced obsessions and hallucinations. Kusama has been very open about her mental health issues that she has faced. She revealed that art became her way to express her mental pain and what she was going through. In an interview with Infinity Net she said
“I fight pain, anxiety, and fear every day, and the only method I have found that relieved my illness is to keep creating art. I followed the thread of art and somehow discovered a path that would allow me to live”
Kusama’s work has been classed as part of the Eccentric Abstraction movement. The Eccentric Abstraction movement is characterized by a rejection of strict minimalism and the inclusion of emotions and sensuality through the use of synthetic materials with organic shapes and sexual undertones. She is a figure for sexual liberation all over the world and she created a new way of seeing the body. Her art is filled with dots and repetition and as she gains inspiration from plants and flowers.
“Polka dots are a life, and the moon, sun, and stars, are one of hundreds of millions of polka dots, this is my grand philosophy. With peace from polka dots I would like to deeply launch my longing for eternal love . Polka dots shall continue to proliferate and appeal to the people with my message”.
Kusama was the first person in the 20th century to use this method of harnessing an individual’s potential for artistic expression and creativity for openly psychotherapeutic purposes. Today this is known as “art therapy’.
Her recent collaboration with Veuve Clicquot is a boxed bottle of vintage champagne with a unique box and bottle that showcases a large flower which can be interpreted as offering ands showing positive energy as well as a tribute to the life of Madame Clicquot herself. The flower designed for Veuve Clicquot represents positivity and regeneration while evoking the energy of La Grande Dame. The flower is what led Kusama to paint dots at the start of her career.
Madame Clicquot
Madame Clicquot known as the Grande Dame of Champagne was born in 1814, she was a widow who took over the reins of Veuve Clicquot in her late twenties. When women weren’t even allowed to have bank accounts she was one of the world’s first true businesswomen.The early years were very challenging, but she pushed through with perseverance and by the the mid 19th century, she paved the way for for the 20th century and women’s progressive assimilation in the world of work then to company management.
Madame Clicquot put quality first and grew the vineyard ownership from 4ha of vines to 41ha increasing production from 100,000 to 750,000 shipping across the world without ever compromising quality of the sparkling wine. She was the first woman to direct a champagne house, and she laid the groundwork for other female widow champagne houses. She developed the first vintage champagne in 1810 and invented the riddling table to clarify the wine in 1816. In 1818 the first rosé d’assemblage wine was created by adding a small percentage of red wine from the vineyards in Bouzy.
Madame Clicquot was creative, innovative and used modern marketing and public relations tools to make Veuve Clicquot one of the most recognized brands in the world. From the bottle to the label she knew that wines must be flattering to both the palate and the eye. She also gave birth to the unique champagne bottle shape we know today. She called upon many creative designers and artists to constantly search for improvement, quality and excellence of her champagne house and it’s fine bubbles.
Madame Clicquot was a woman who loved to write letters. She wrote many letters with her quill and her voice traveled around the world without her ever leaving Reims, France. As people were sipping her wonderful sparkling wine her words were heard all over the world. Madame Clicquot believed that Pinot Noir had the broadest range of expression and potential to create the best champagne.
“Our black grapes give the finest white wines.”
La Grande Dame, is a showcase of the House’s true excellence. It perfectly showcases the love for Pinot Noir, which since the 2008 vintage, has represented over 90% of the blend.
Flowers as symbols have been appreciated and used in victorian and ancient times where gestures and sign languages were more popular than verbal communication. Kusama designed a beautiful yellow flower design for the 2012 Grand Dame Champagne. This opulent flower is an original artistic creation that symbolizes vital energy, love and celebration of life. It is a tribute to nature, cherished by both Madame Clicquot and Yayoi Kusama. The yellow flower that is on the La Grande Dame 2012 Magnum brings joy and vibrancy to all who look at it. It took more that 250 hours to make possible and is available in only 100 numbered pieces.
Available across Canada in very limited quantities. For more information https://www.veuveclicquot.com/fr-ca/la-grande-dame-2012-by-yayoi-kusama
