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 Yoko Ono APPLE ©2001 Yoko Ono |
Y E S
YOKO ONO presents more than 150 works created during the past 40 years
that explore these and other themes. Organized by Japan Society, New York,
the exhibition is Ono's first American retrospective since 1971. The Walker's
presentation is the first stop on the show's international tour and will
allow visitors to explore the full range of her achievement--from her
early experiments with music and performance to her well-known films and
sculptures to her more recent installations, interactive objects, and
drawings.
 photo: Iain MacMillan YOKO ONO ©2001 Yoko Ono |
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Ono was born in Japan in 1933
and has been a resident of New York since the 1950s. Since the beginning
of her prolific career, she has consistently been a pioneer in developing
new art forms, moving freely beyond and between genres, from avant-garde
to Pop. Her profoundly social art aims to involve the viewer as an active
participant and to break down long-standing distinctions between art and
everyday life. Along with her interest in chance and understatement, these
characteristics have allowed her work to play a key role in the transmission
of Asian thought to the international art world.
During the 1960s Ono was a key participant in many of the innovations
of the New York, Tokyo, and London vanguards, including Fluxus, Conceptual
Art, and the underground film and performance scenes. When she married
Lennon in 1969, the couple made use of the media coverage surrounding
their honeymoon to campaign for world peace, a theme that suffused many
of the collaborative pieces they later created. Ono's work of the 1990s
has addressed themes of change, survival, and time: relinquishing her
status as an icon of nostalgia, she has attempted with new material to
reinvent herself.
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 Yoko Ono CLEANING PIECE (riverbed) MORNING BEAMS (behind) ©2001 Yoko Ono |
Divided into five chronological
and thematic sections, the exhibition begins with works on paper and printed
matter produced during the early 1960s. Central are Ono's Instruction
Paintings, a set of written directions for "paintings to be constructed
in your head." These conceptual works are among the first examples of
pure language standing in for the material of art. Another section features
her early sculptural works made of common, found materials. Highlights
include the installation Half-A-Room (1967), a mock studio apartment
in which everything--from the teapot to the armchair--has been cut in
half. The exhibition also offers a rare look at her work in film and performance.
Several films, including Fly (1970) and the infamous No. 4 (Bottoms)
(1966), will be screened continuously in the galleries. A 1965 performance
of Ono's now iconic event Cut Piece, in which she invited audience
members to cut away her clothing with a pair of scissors, will be shown
on video. Finally, the exhibition will present a selection of films, photographs,
and objects that examine her work as a peace activist (including her collaborations
with John Lennon) and a sampling of her objects, drawings, videos, and
installations made during the 1990s.
Throughout her career and across media, Ono has always invited the viewer
to participate in completing her works. She has compared her own process
of making art to writing a musical score for others to perform. Visitors
to the exhibition will be able to add their wishes, written on tags, to
Wish Tree (1996/2000). They can also play a game at her all-white
chess set, Play It By Trust (1997), and navigate the plexiglass
labyrinth AMAZE (1971/2001).
IN
THE WALKER ART CENTER SHOP
Y E S YOKO ONO
This
richly illustrated, 352-page catalogue features essays on Ono's life and
career by eight international scholars and critics. The most extensive
survey yet published on the artist, each book also includes a CD--not
available elsewhere--with three new songs by Ono. Hardcover: $60 ($54
Walker members); softcover: $45 ($40.50).
GRAPEFRUIT: A BOOK OF INSTRUCTIONS AND DRAWINGS BY YOKO ONO
Simon
and Schuster, 2000. Hardcover: $15 ($13.50 Walker members).
RELATED
EVENTS
FREE TOURS
Y E S YOKO ONO
SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2001, 2 PM
THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 2001, 1 PM
SUNDAY, JUNE 17, 2001, 2 PM
Join the Walker Art Center's knowledgeable tour guides for a lively, engaging,
and informative tour of the exhibition.
MAY
EVENTS
FREE TOURS
Y E S YOKO ONO
THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2001, 1 PM
SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2001, 2 PM
THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2001, 6 PM
SUNDAY, APRIL 20, 2001, 2 PM
SUNDAY, MAY 27, 2001, 2 PM
THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2001, 6 PM
Join the Walker Art Center's knowledgeable tour guides for a lively, engaging,
and informative tour of the exhibition.
FREE THURSDAY LECTURE
A MADNESS
SHARED BY TWO: THE COLLABORATIVE WORK OF YOKO ONO AND JOHN LENNON
THURSDAY,
MAY 17, 2001, 7 PM
Diane Mullin, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History at the Minneapolis
College of Art and Design, explores the history and practice of artistic
collaboration, with a focus on the variety of creative and social projects
conceived by Yoko Ono and John Lennon.
SUNDAY
FUN
OUT OF THE
ORDINARY: A HAPPENING WITH TEA
SUNDAY, MAY 13, 2001, 1-2:30 PM
$8 ($4 WALKER MEMBERS)
Join us for a Fluxus-style happening this Mother's Day. You'll begin in
the exhibition Y E S YOKO ONO by following curious directions to
find wondrous objects. In the Art Lab, mix and sip tea as you create extraordinary
works of art and a set of unusual instructions. Led by artist Ilene Krug
Mojsilov.
WORLD
PREMIERE
JOAN
JEANRENAUD: METAMORPHOSIS
SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2001, 8 PM
$14 ($7 WALKER MEMBERS)
After 20 years with the seminal Kronos Quartet, cellist Joan Jeanrenaud
embarks on a new journey, collaborating with composers, designers, videomakers,
and visual artists to push the boundaries of the concert experience. The
Walker presents the world premiere of Metamorphosis, an evening-length
work comprised of five compositions interwoven in sequence.
JOAN JEANRENAUD:
ICE CELLO
SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2001, 12 NOON-4 PM
FREE WITH GALLERY ADMISSION
Over the course of several hours, Jeanrenaud "plays" a unique cello made
entirely of ice, while sound artist Stephen Vitiello manipulates and amplifies
the tones produced as it melts.
ON THE WEB
SONICFLUX:
YOKO ONO
WWW.WALKERART.ORG/PA/SONICFLUX/ONO/
The third installment of the Walker's SonicFlux series explores
artistic ideas through acoustic interactive environments. Taking a cue
from her early Fluxus scores, this site explores Ono's work in audience
participation as it translates to the online medium.
APRIL EVENTS
FREE TOURS
Y E S YOKO ONO
SUNDAY, APRIL 1, 2001, 2 PM
THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2001, 2 PM
SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2001, 2 PM
THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2001, 6 PM
SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2001, 2 PM
THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2001, 2 PM
Join the Walker Art Center's knowledgeable tour guides for a lively, engaging,
and informative tour of the exhibition.
FREE FIRST SATURDAY
SPRING INTO
FUN
SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2001, 11 AM-4 PM
Celebrate spring during this artful, musical day for families. Explore
the exhibition Y E S YOKO ONO on a gallery tour, feel the rhythms
of Spanish songs at a flamenco performance, and check out some playful
and poetic springtime films. All activities are free and available on
a first-come, first-served basis.
MACK LECTURE
KIM
GORDON
SUNDAY, APRIL 8, 2001, 2 PM
$12 ($6 WALKER MEMBERS)
Join visual artist-musician Kim Gordon as she discusses the films and
performance art of Yoko Ono.
CLASS:
COMPLEAT SCHOLAR
WAITING
FOR YOKO
WEDNESDAYS, APRIL 11, 18, AND 25, 6:30-8:30 PM
$78 ($70.20 WALKER MEMBERS AND SENIORS)
This course focuses on Ono's relationship to conceptual, performance,
and video art, including her involvement with the Fluxus movement and
the interpretation of her work relative to other women artists of her
generation. Offered as part of the University of Minnesota's Compleat
Scholar Program.
FREE
PERFORMANCE: CUT PIECE
THURSDAY, APRIL 12 2001, 7 PM
Performance artist Lisa D'Amour will perform one of Yoko Ono's most famous
and controversial pieces, in which audience members are invited to cut
away pieces of her clothing with a pair of scissors.
MARCH EVENTS
WALKER
AFTER HOURS/EXHIBITION PREVIEW PARTY
FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 9 PM-12 MIDNIGHT
$14 ($7 WALKER MEMBERS)
Celebrate the exhibition opening with an evening of live music, films,
and Fluxus-inspired Art Lab activities. The Martini of the Month: In Flux.
AN
AFTERNOON WITH YOKO
SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 2 PM
$20 ($10 WALKER MEMBERS) SOLD OUT
Join Yoko Ono for an afternoon of conversation and music as she discusses
ideas that animate her work.
THE
FILMS OF YOKO ONO
SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 7 PM
$6 ($4 WALKER MEMBERS)
Presented as part of the Women with Vision film and video festival, this
program offers a very rare screening of several of Ono's films.
Museum of Modern Art Show. 1971, U.S., 16mm, 7 minutes.
Freedom. 1970, U.S., 16mm, 1 minute.
Two Virgins. 1968, U.S., 16mm, 19 minutes.
Up Your Legs Forever. 1970, U.S., 16mm, 70 minutes.
GALLERY
TALK
THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 6:30 PM
FREE
PUBLIC TOURS
SATURDAYS, MARCH 24 AND 31; SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2 PM
FREE WITH GALLERY ADMISSION
Join a Walker tour guide for an in-depth look at the exhibition.
Y E S YOKO ONO IS ORGANIZED BY JAPAN SOCIETY, NEW YORK,
AND CURATED BY ALEXANDRA MUNROE, DIRECTOR, JAPAN SOCIETY GALLERY, IN CONSULTATION
WITH FLUXUS SCHOLAR JON HENDRICKS.
THE EXHIBITION IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY MAJOR SUPPORT FROM NTT DoCoMo,
INC.
ASSISTANCE FROM APPLE COMPUTER, INC.; EMI RECORDED MUSIC, EMI RECORDS
LTD. AND CAPITOL RECORDS, INC.; EMI MUSIC PUBLISHING; AND SIGNATURES NETWORK,
INC. IS GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGED. GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM THE ANDY WARHOL
FOUNDATION FOR THE VISUAL ARTS; THE E. RHODES AND LEONA B. CARPENTER FOUNDATION;
THE DAVID GEFFEN FOUNDATION; AND MARILYN AND JEFFREY KATZENBERG HAS ALSO
MADE THIS EXHIBITION POSSIBLE. THE TOUR OF Y E S YOKO ONO IS SUPPORTED
IN PART BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS, WASHINGTON, D.C., A FEDERAL
AGENCY.
THE MINNEAPOLIS PRESENTATION OF Y E S YOKO ONO IS MADE POSSIBLE BY GENEROUS
SUPPORT FROM SAM GOODY AND THE E. RHODES AND LEONA B. CARPENTER FOUNDATION.