The Communication Art of Yoko Ono
The Message is the Medium an Article by Midori Yoshimoto
Sep 4, 2009
In the book called Into Performance, published in 2005, Yoshimoto writes a chapter about Yoko Ono. She called it The Message is the Medium: The Communication Art of Yoko Ono. She says that shortly after turning 20 years old, Ono discovered art out of necessity. "Art is a means of survival," Ono claims as she looks back over her life. She says that 'art making' helped her overcome hardships and obstacles. She gives an example of how this is possible, when she explains that she played imagination games with her siblings. They used to imagine foods as a way of wishful thinking during World War II.
Performance Pieces That Bring Hope
Yoshimoto goes on the describe one of Ono's earliest expressions called Lighting Piece.(1955) This performance was a simple set of instructions, which originally grew out of Ono's personal self talk, or ritual. She used these rituals when calming herself. Once this became a written set of instructions and was performed in front of an audience, it became her message to people. The message was an encouragement to contemplate their own lives.
The Message is the Medium
By the 1970's, continues Yoshimoto, Ono had developed her concepts to a stage where she realised that her ideas and imagination could become art via language. Recent scholarship recognises that Ono's work can be claimed as the earliest conceptual art pieces. But unlike others, her interest in ideological critique was secondary to her playful characterisation of her art as "play." She laughingly called it "con art." This term, originated from the interplay of the words "conceptual" and the more disparaging use of the suffix "con." This suggests the "deceptive playfulness that underlies her art," says Yoshimoto on page 80.
Main Points of Interest for Ono's Art
Yoko Ono's art formed its basis in the 1960s and developed into different forms in the following four decades. Yoshimoto identifies these as the pertinent factors in the development of her work.
- her feminist concerns
- development of her performance related works
- her role catylising artistic exchanges between Japan and the United States
In the first section of the chapter on Ono, Yoshimoto talks about her biographical material and the interrelations with the New York avant-garde artists. Through this analysis, she discusses the way that Ono came to develop her instructions and performance.
In the second section, Yoshimoto looks at the time Ono spent in Japan between 1962 and1964. At this time she was active within the Tokyo avant-garde circle.
The third section talks of her artistic activity in New York from 1964 to 1966. She was active with the group called Fluxus at this time. She seems to have been one of the founding members.
Lastly, in section four, Yoshimoto talks about Onos' activities in London between 1966 and 1970. Her artistic activities shifted, according to Yoshimoto, because of her marriage to John Lennon.
The chapter closes with a discussion of Ono's art and life for the last three decades.
Ono lived an interesting life, which seems to always have been grounded in feminist theory. It seems that from the earliest of years she was expected to perform. Against her father's wishes, she became the first female student of the Gakushuin University in 1952.
In the Shadow of John Lennon
Yoshimoto says at the close of the chapter, that although Ono's artistic creativity has been overshadowed by the celebrity status brought on by her marriage to Lennon, she was not constrained by this. She was able to use the access to mass media to her artistic advantage. She has continued to work for peace using her artistic performances.
Ono says that "All my things have to do with the inner life, inner communication and transformation." This means that all of her work is intended to "cause an inner, contemplative reaction" in the spectator.
Ono, Yoshimoto says, wants her art to transcend national boundaries. She aspires for her work to reach out to increasingly wider audiences in the world.
Resource:
Yoshimoto.M. Into Performance: Japanese Women Artists in New York. Rutgers Press. New Brunswick. 2005
Related Article:
Performing the Other an Article by Rhee. Yoko Ono's performance of Cut Piece analysed by Art Historian, Jieun Rhee.
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