Photograph as Poster
Photograph conceived as a poster for Works by Yoko Ono, Carnegie Recital Hall, New York, 24 November 1961
Poster by Yoko Ono
George Maciunas
Photograph, print on vinyl
Ono’s concert included AOS – To David Tudor, an ‘opera’ conducted almost in darkness, only illuminated by matches and torches, and A Grapefruit in the World of Park. The latter was a poem-like performance score, adapted from a story that Ono had written in 1955. Ono read the text onstage while some 20 artists, composers, musicians and dancers, including George Brecht, Trisha Brown, Jackson Mac Low, Jonas Mekas, Yvonne Rainer, David Tudor and La Monte Young, followed her instructions, laughing aloud or playing atonal music. In the original story, a group of characters discuss what to do with an unwanted grapefruit before peeling and eating it.*
From the exhibition
Yoko Ono Music of the Mind
(February – September 2024)
Yoko Ono is a trailblazer of early conceptual and participatory art, film and performance, a celebrated musician, and a formidable campaigner for world peace. Developing her practice in the United States, Japan and the UK, ideas are central to her art, often expressed in poetic, humorous, profound and radical ways.
Spanning more than seven decades, YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND is the UK’s largest exhibition celebrating key moments in Ono’s groundbreaking, influential and multidisciplinary career, from the mid-1950s to now – including her years in London where she met her future husband and longtime collaborator John Lennon.
The show traces the development of her practice and explores some of Ono’s most talked about and powerful artworks and performances. This includes Cut Piece (1964), where people were invited to cut off her clothing, to her banned Film No.4 (Bottoms) (1966-67) which she created as a ‘petition for peace’. Visitors are invited to take part in both simple acts of the imagination and active encounters with Ono’s works, such as Wish Trees for London, where visitors can contribute personal wishes for peace.
Audiences will discover over 200 works including instruction pieces, scores, installations, films, music and photography. The exhibition reveals a groundbreaking approach to language, art and participation that continues to speak to the present moment.
[*Tate Modern]
Taken in the Tate Modern
Photograph as Poster
Photograph conceived as a poster for Works by Yoko Ono, Carnegie Recital Hall, New York, 24 November 1961
Poster by Yoko Ono
George Maciunas
Photograph, print on vinyl
Ono’s concert included AOS – To David Tudor, an ‘opera’ conducted almost in darkness, only illuminated by matches and torches, and A Grapefruit in the World of Park. The latter was a poem-like performance score, adapted from a story that Ono had written in 1955. Ono read the text onstage while some 20 artists, composers, musicians and dancers, including George Brecht, Trisha Brown, Jackson Mac Low, Jonas Mekas, Yvonne Rainer, David Tudor and La Monte Young, followed her instructions, laughing aloud or playing atonal music. In the original story, a group of characters discuss what to do with an unwanted grapefruit before peeling and eating it.*
From the exhibition
Yoko Ono Music of the Mind
(February – September 2024)
Yoko Ono is a trailblazer of early conceptual and participatory art, film and performance, a celebrated musician, and a formidable campaigner for world peace. Developing her practice in the United States, Japan and the UK, ideas are central to her art, often expressed in poetic, humorous, profound and radical ways.
Spanning more than seven decades, YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND is the UK’s largest exhibition celebrating key moments in Ono’s groundbreaking, influential and multidisciplinary career, from the mid-1950s to now – including her years in London where she met her future husband and longtime collaborator John Lennon.
The show traces the development of her practice and explores some of Ono’s most talked about and powerful artworks and performances. This includes Cut Piece (1964), where people were invited to cut off her clothing, to her banned Film No.4 (Bottoms) (1966-67) which she created as a ‘petition for peace’. Visitors are invited to take part in both simple acts of the imagination and active encounters with Ono’s works, such as Wish Trees for London, where visitors can contribute personal wishes for peace.
Audiences will discover over 200 works including instruction pieces, scores, installations, films, music and photography. The exhibition reveals a groundbreaking approach to language, art and participation that continues to speak to the present moment.
[*Tate Modern]
Taken in the Tate Modern