Kusama: Infinity

Heather Lenz's 2018 documentary follows Yayoi Kusama out of a strict family in Japan into the New York art world, and her being overlooked there. The claim at its centre is that work she made in the sixties was shown in similar form by male artists at the same time and became known under their names. The documentary's strength is in the archive: Kusama's own letters, exhibition records of the period and performance footage. The artist's mental health and her living by choice in a hospital are related as a working arrangement rather than a tragedy. Its limit is that analysis of the art itself stays thin, with the account concentrated on the story of recognition. Who it's for: viewers interested in the history of contemporary art and portraits of artists. Who it's not for: anyone wanting deep analysis of the work, or avoiding the subject of mental health.