A Passion For Pumpkins

Pumpkin spice coffee, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup-Americans have a passion for pumpkin. The humble gourd sparks our creativity in  art as well as gastronomy. Fall Pumpkin Festivals inspire our competitive spirit with prizes for the largest specimen or the most creatively decorated one, like this giant pumpkin boat from the 2018 festival along Pittsburgh’s North Shore.

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama shares our fascination with these colorful vegetables. At The Hirshorn Museum in Washington D.C. in 2017, Kusama’s installation, “All the Eternal Love I Have For Pumpkins”, featured over 60 pumpkin sculptures inside a tiny  13 foot square room. The exhibit was one of the Hirshorn’s most highly attended shows, and Kusama’s works consistently attract huge crowds. The Hirshorn also displays this oversized pumpkin, one of a series that can be seen across the globe, in it’s Sculpture  Garden.


So when you’re grabbing your favorite pumpkin treat at the grocery store, throw a pumpkin or two into your cart, too, and see where your imagination will take you.