Our names are Heather Lenz and Karen Johnson and our documentary, Kusama: Infinity, is about the life and career of world-renowned artist Yayoi Kusama. We’re excited to answer your questions and discuss the creation of our extraordinary documentary, now available on DVD and Digital HD!Order Kusama: Infinity: https://amzn.to/2Bc6ogU Hashtag: #KusamaMovieWebsite: http://bit.ly/2ToG36B https://twitter.com/kusamamovieInstagram: http://bit.ly/2BnqyVF http://bit.ly/2TozK2Z Kusama: InfinityNow the top-selling female artist in the world, Yayoi Kusama overcame impossible odds to bring her radical artistic vision to the world stage. For decades, her work pushed boundaries that often alienated her from both her peers and those in power in the art world. Kusama was an underdog with everything stacked against her: the trauma of growing up in Japan during World War II, life in a dysfunctional family that discouraged her creative ambitions, sexism and racism in the art establishment, mental illness in a culture where that was particularly shameful and even continuing to pursue and be devoted to her art full time on the cusp of her ‘90s. In spite of it all, Kusama has endured and has created a legacy of artwork that spans the disciplines of painting, sculpture, installation art, performance art, poetry and literary fiction. After working as an artist for over six decades, people around the globe are experiencing her installation Infinity Mirrored Rooms in record numbers, as Kusama continues to create new work every day.About Heather Lenz (Director, Writer, Producer)Director, writer and producer Heather Lenz is passionate about documentaries and biographical films and drawn to stories about people with creative minds who have not walked a familiar beaten path. Her first short documentary about a bicycle inventor, Back to Back, was nominated for a student Academy Award and screened at film festivals worldwide. Lenz has degrees in Art History and Fine Arts from Kent State University. She also earned an MFA in Cinema and Television Production from the University of Southern California.Lenz became interested in Kusama while studying art in the early ‘90s. When she first saw the Japanese artist’s work, it was love at first sight; after study, Lenz felt strongly that Kusama’s contributions to the American art world had been largely overlooked, notably during the period when Kusama created some of her most innovative work, from the late ‘50s to the early ‘70s while living in New York City, over fifteen years. Lenz began her film on Kusama and has worked for over a decade to bring the story to the screen; Lenz never imagined that during the making of the film Kusama would become the top-selling female artist in the world.During the making of the documentary, Lenz married into a Japanese family. Her father-in-law (a 17th generation Buddhist Minister) and her mother-in-law (an expert in the dying art of the Japanese tea ceremony) are both from the Hiroshima area and, like Kusama’s parents, they have an arranged marriage. Her husband's grandfather was obliterated by the atomic bomb that fell on Hiroshima. It is important to Lenz that this film about the colorful artist Yayoi Kusama, contain information about the darker side of Kusama's history as a child during WWII, to help introduce that period to a younger generation and help prevent it from being forgotten. Lenz has written on the subject of Kusama’s anti-war art for Specialten DVD Magazine.About Karen Johnson (Producer)Karen Johnson’s award-winning productions have been distributed and broadcast throughout the world. She has a special interest in projects by female writers and directors and/or featuring compelling female characters. Johnson has been producing Kusama - Infinity with director/producer/writer Heather Lenz since 2004. Johnson produced the award-winning feature documentary Double Dare, about Hollywood stuntwomen, directed by Oscar-nominated director Amanda Micheli. Double Dare was an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival and won numerous film festival audience awards worldwide, was broadcast on Independent Lens, and was distributed worldwide by NBC/Universal.Johnson is currently producing Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound, a feature documentary about the history and artistry of sound in motion pictures, with director/producer Midge Costin and writer/producer Bobette Buster. She is also producing Nerd Girl Nation, a STEM-focused web series with Oscar and Emmy-nominated director Paola DiFlorio and President’s Award-winning educator Dr. Karen Panetta.Proof:http://bit.ly/2BfaGEy via /r/movies http://bit.ly/2UwkrFg
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