Waseda Institute for Advanced Study (WIAS)Waseda University

Name

PACHCIAREK, Pawel

Degree

Ph.D. in Literature

HP (URL)

https://researchmap.jp/pachciarek?lang=en

Status

Assistant Professor

Research Topic

Yayoi Kusama’s Literature: Poems, Novels, and Performance Art through the Lens of Her Japanese and American Experiences

This project examines the often-overlooked literary works of Yayoi Kusama, focusing on the interrelation between her literature and visual art within the contexts of her Japanese and American experiences. While Kusama’s visual art is internationally acclaimed, her writings—ranging from poetry to novels—have received limited scholarly attention.
By tracing the continuity of Kusama’s critique of social discrimination from her time in New York to her later works in Japan, this study explores how her identity as an Asian woman in a Western, male-dominated art world shaped her creative expression. It investigates how early signs of social dissent in her works were amplified by New York’s cultural landscape, influencing both her performance art and literary output.
Through comparative analysis with contemporaneous performance art and the application of feminist and queer theories, the project aims to clarify the intertextuality between Kusama’s texts and images. By redefining the significance of her New York period, this research seeks to illuminate the contemporary relevance of her anti-discrimination activism and the broader global resonance of her work.

Education and Academic Employment

Education

Academic Employment

Fields of Research Interests

Contemporary Art, History of Art, Yayoi Kusama, Comperative Literature, Gender Theory

Academic Publications

Single-Authored Books

• Kusama Yayoi—Mizutama no Kyōhaku (Dots Obsession). Warsaw: Tako Publishing, April 2015.

Co-Authored

• Ide, A., and Pachciarek, P. “Information Ethics of Smartphone Games: The Example of Pokémon Go.” In Ethics and Sustainability in Digital Cultures, pp. 150-170. Routledge, April 2023.

Major Articles

• “EU to Kuia Āto” (The EU and Queer Art). In EU no Hyakka Jiten (Encyclopedia of the EU), edited by the Editorial Committee, pp. 294-295. Maruzen Publishing, December 2024.
• “Pōrando no Gurafikku Āto” (Polish Graphic Art). In Chūō-Tōō Bunka Jiten (Encyclopedia of Central and Eastern European Culture), Chapter 7: Art and Fine Arts, edited by Kumiko Haba, pp. 172-173. Maruzen Publishing, 2021.
• “Kusama Bungaku no Shōkai—Shakai Kanyo no Chosakuka” (Introduction to Kusama’s Literature—A Socially Engaged Author). In Shinpojiumu—Kusama Yayoi no Bungaku Geijutsu (Symposium—The Literary Art of Yayoi Kusama), Conference Proceedings, pp. 30-50, February 2024.
• “Wesutosupureiningu—Chūtōō Shokoku ni okeru Seiji Rekishiteki Shutai no Kaifuku Gendai Bijutsu Sakka no Shorei kara” (West-splaining—Recovering Political and Historical Agency in Central and Eastern European Countries: Examples from Contemporary Artists). In Geijutsu to Shakai Kokusai Kaigi (International Conference on Art and Society), Chūō Kōron Bijutsu Shuppan, pp. 120-145, February 2024.
• “Kusama Yayoi no Bijutsu to Bungaku ni okeru ‘Narushisu’ no Motīfu” (The Motif of ‘Narcissus’ in Yayoi Kusama’s Art and Literature). Machikaneyama Ronsō, No. 55, Literature Edition, pp. 88-110, February 2021.
• “Yayoi Kusama and the Queer Theory.” In 21st International Congress of Aesthetics, Belgrade University, Post Conference Proceedings, pp. 45-60, July 2019.
• “Kusama Yayoi no Katsudō ni okeru Shakai Katsudō to Kuia Riron—Bungaku Sakuhin to Happuningu Kōi o Rei ni” (Social Activities and Queer Theory in Yayoi Kusama’s Work—Examples from Literary Works and Performances). Bigaku (Aesthetics), Vol. 70, No. 2, pp. 130-150, June 2019.
• “Kusama Yayoi in the Context of Eastern and Western Thought.” The Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University (JAH-Q), Vol. 2, pp. 13-30, April 2017.
• “Kusama Yayoi no Gengo Geijutsu no Sekai—Bijutsu to Bungaku ni okeru Motīfu no Hikaku” (The World of Yayoi Kusama’s Verbal Art—A Comparison of Motifs in Art and Literature). In Happyo Hokokushū (Presentation Report Collection), 67th National Conference of the Aesthetics Society, pp. 67-80, June 2017.
• “Paradność” (Paradeness). In WARSZAWA W BUDOWIE (Warsaw Under Construction) Exhibition, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, 2017.
• “Nieznane Oblicze Kusama Yayoi – Japońskiej Artystki i Pisarki” (The Unknown Face of Yayoi Kusama – Japanese Artist and Writer). Porównania, Vol. 18, pp. 123-145, April 2016.
• “Kusama Yayoi – Festiwal Ciała” (Yayoi Kusama – Festival of the Body). In Świat Zmysłów. O znaczeniu zmysłów w kulturze (The World of Senses. On the Importance of Senses in Culture), pp. 56-72, August 2014.
• “Kusama Yayoi and Her Influence on the Contemporary Art.” In Asia in XXI Century: Challenges, Problems, Perspectives, pp. 33-50, September 2014.
• “Yayoi Kusama – Manhattan Salvation Addict.” In The Fourth Asian Conference on Cultural Studies, Official Conference Proceedings, pp. 10-25, April 2014.

Other Interests

Contemporary art, music, and traveling

Affiliated Academic Organizations

Association for Cultural Typhoon
The Japan Art History Society
The Japanese Society for Aesthetics