On November 9th, 1966, John Lennon walked into London’s Indica Gallery where he met a 33-year-old avant-garde artist named Yoko Ono.
The Beatle, unenthused by concept art, climbed a ladder that was part
of Ono’s installation piece. At the top of the ladder, the word "YES"
appeared through a spyglass and, as Lennon later explained, he was deeply moved by the simple expression of acceptance.
Nearly 50 years later, Ono continues to proliferate optimism through
her art and social activism. Photographs of the piece that inspired
Lennon, "YES Painting, 1966" along with photographs of "Apple, 1966" and
"War Is Over, 1969-1991" are included in the comprehensive new
collection Yoko Ono Infinite Universe At Dawn, curated by Ono
with Genesis Publications. Only 1,500 limited edition signed copies of
the book will be released worldwide at roughly $517 (or £325).
Yoko at Paley Center For Media,Nov 11,2014 in NYC |
Tuesday night at New York's Paley Center, Ono sat down with Rolling Stone contributing
editor Anthony DeCurtis for a lengthy discussion about her path as an
avant-garde artist. Wearing a leather jacket and dark circular glasses,
Ono spoke about her childhood in Tokyo — where she was trained as a
classical pianist — to her involvement with New York's Fluxus movement
and John Cage.
Ono said she rebelled against her parents' classical interests and
experimented with conceptual music as early as her teens. "I had a
natural feeling for doing something that was new," she said. However,
when her family relocated to Japan's countryside during WWII, Ono's
mother encouraged her to pour her hardships onto the page. It proved to
be valuable training for Ono, who would later use her art as an
instrument of social change.
A video montage highlighted the radicalness of Ono's experimental
film projects. The most striking was "Cut Piece, 1965," featuring a
vulnerable Ono sitting on a stage with her eyes fixed in the distance as
individuals came and cut off a sliver of her clothing with a scissors
until there was nothing left to cut. Ono only performed it wearing
garments she actually loved. "Nuns understood it," said Ono, "because
they are used to giving." "Cut Piece" is a hallmark of Ono's fascination
with communication, a theme she revisited in pieces such as "Bed Peace,
1969," a clip of her infamous Bed-Ins for Peace with new husband John
Lennon, and her insouciant "Bad Dancer" music video from Plastic Ono
Band’s 2013 album Take Me to the Land of Hell.
While Ono admitted she used to struggle with interaction ("I was an
artist that didn't want anyone to touch or change my work"), her opinion
softened the more she witnessed the power of engagement. "All of us
have energy, but not all of us give it," Ono said, adding with a
credulous smile, "It's easy to change the world."
After eight decades, Ono’s projects take on a larger scope these
days. Her 2007 memorial, Imagine Peace Tower, is a public art structure
dedicated to John Lennon in Viday Island near Reykjavik, Iceland. Long
ago, Ono had an idea for a building made of light. When she told Lennon
about it, he asked her to build the light tower in his garden. She
laughed at the ridiculous idea. Today, the installation is actualized.
Fifteen searchlights are projected from a white stone monument, creating
a tower of light, a symbol of modernity and enlightenment. At the base
of the monument, the word "Imagine," after Lennon’s emblematic song, is
engraved in 24 languages. Ono said, "It just occurred to me that this is
[Lennon’s] garden."
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