On more than one occasion, I have had the opportunity to liken an art exhibition to an amusement park funhouse. A lot of contemporary art—installation art, in particular—lends itself to such an unflattering analogy. However one configures it, installations eschew the nuances of high art for the spectacle of theater or, should one say, the theatrical. One leading practitioner of the form stated that his aim was to “control” the viewer, and the most telling attribute of installation art is its distrust of aesthetic engagement. In taking over “the white cube” of the gallery, installations overwhelm and, at times, harass the viewer. Given the desperation inherent in such endeavors, who wouldn’t prefer the attractions of a roadside carny?

The re-creation of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room (1965), as seen in the exhibition “Love Forever: Yayoi Kusama, 1958– 1968,” was like a funhouse but in ...

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