Reaction to Final post comment

The question of a compulsive repetition versus a more intentional
With the work of Yayoi Kusama and Liza Lau they both have the need to create an environment with their compulsion. Kusama voluntarily lives in a mental institution so that she will have enough time to be alone with her work---this frees her up from making her own meals as well as not having to do the laundary. From childhood as you can view at her website in her early work, she has had 'visions/hallucinations' of the surfaces of her parents home covered with polka-dots. A pencil drawing portrays her mother---the 'normal' rendering--yet imposed in awkard places are these dots. Its always been inherent for her--a short documentary of Kusama wearing a bright red unitard again with these white dots. She is surrounded in a forrest setting--who knows where maybe the red wood national forrest or her back yard. She proceeds to take these cut out dots and with out pausing to ponder their positioning she intuitively swiftly urgently places the dots as high up and on as many trees as possible. She then turns to a cat, then a horse, then a nude man--covering as much of them as they allow. There's something to say about this need ---this impulse. She has created this compulsion ----that inturn has created her----what the name Yayoi Kusama means. It's about the act just as much as it is about the dot.
As far as Liza Lau's work is considered, once again she creates an environment covering surfaces allowing the viewer to become aware of her compulsion. She took part in an interview on NPR's This American Life-----the shows title was 'Obsession' . She provides the listener with the information concerning her work schedule. Most days she would bead for 18 hours blocks. She would sometimes only cover a 5inchx5inch stretch of space. In order to fund this project she would have to sell smaller beaded things--i.e. beaded chairs, beaded dishes, beaded portraits of dead presidents----onlyso she could get enough money to buy more beads--to bead more of her kitchen.
The faculty I discussed in the presentation all have 'intentional' repetition within the grid of the object /sculpture/drawing in which they have created. I find this fascinating that in some way they have formulated a series of rules or laws within their work as to how repetitive marks are going to be made. How they interact with their work is in this way organized to some degree. I can appreciate the methods and feel I have gained a great deal of insight by researching both the compulsive and more intentional. Now that I think about it Kusama is one who teeters in both realms -----I see intentional marks in her paintings as well as her ceramic work---Could one come to the conclusion that the medium for her dictates her response to it in the form of her marks? There is much to say about the intent and a direct reflection of one's life story. The interviews I partook--really allowed me insight into these artist lives--they do reflect off of one another---work as a trace of creator.