Is That Art?

Yoko Ono At The Tate, London

Recently, on a trip in London, my wife and I decided to go to the Tate Museum to see a special exhibit featuring the works of Yoko Ono. Going into it, I had my reservations, as I generally think of random screaming, bizarre acts and, sadly, the Beatles breaking up when thinking of Yoko Ono. But, I tried to keep an open mind. If the Tate Museum thought it worthy of a special exhibit, then I figured there must be something there.

Upon walking in to the exhibit, I encountered her piece entitled “Match” — a slow motion video of her lighting a match, along with associated still images of the same. I then pressed on to next room where it shared snippets of Yoko’s “Grapefruit: A Book of Instructions and Drawings.” which provides random prompts for creating art (for example, “Carry an empty bag. Go to the top of the hill. Pour all the light you can in it. Go home when it is dark. Hang the bag in the middle of your room in place of a light bulb.”). This was then followed by interactive exhibits like her “Nail Piece” (hammer a nail into a piece of wood), videos like “The Fly” (a fly walking on a woman’s naked body) and “bottoms” featuring the back-side of naked people walking, and other seemingly random “art.”

The exhibit certainly validated my perception of Yoko Ono as bizarre. However, at the same time, I couldn’t help but ask myself “what is art, anyway?” Although somewhat difficult to admit, I concluded that maybe there is a method to Yoko’s madness. And, perhaps we can all learn something from her.

1. Art is a way to express oneself. Whether I find it bizarre or not is irrelevant. The exhibit provided me with a much greater understanding of Yoko Ono. And that, in and of itself, demonstrates its power. I can’t think of many other works of art that provide such a deep glimpse into the soul of the artist.
2. Art opens your mind. In many ways, I could argue that “Grapefruit” was a masterpiece. While definitely strange at first, its many odd prompts successfully caused me to wonder and reflect on visuals, words, sounds and feelings that I would have never otherwise considered — more so that any other pieces of art I recall encountering.
3. Art can drive change. Yoko was certainly a free spirit, and spent considerable time and effort (along with John Lennon) to promote peace, openness and love. Although somewhat uncomfortable to watch, her pieces like “The Fly” and “Bottoms” served to drive such efforts and normalize what many would view as taboo.
4. Art is for everyone. The exhibit demonstrated (and promoted) the idea that anyone can be an artist in their own way. Be it the book of instructions or the interactive exhibits like Nail, Yoko invited everyone to be an artist and express their own unique self.
5. Art is to be enjoyed. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the exhibit. Sure, there were moments were I cringed, some where I laughed and others where I just stared in shocking disbelief. But, I left there with a smile on my face and with a new appreciation for Yoko and art in general.

While I still find Yoko Ono a bit bizarre, I have a new appreciation of her artistic talents and, perhaps even more, her courage to express herself. I also can better understand John Lennon’s fascination with her (and, while probably a contributing factor, I don’t believe that she was the primary reason for the Beatles break-up). I hope that Yoko’s art helps to inspire all of us to more freely express ourselves, think differently and drive positive change in the world. We can all benefit from a little more of that these days.

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