from Discover Nikkei:
http://www.discovernikkei.org/en/journal/2006/5/4/nikkei-heritage-yoko-ono/Yoko Ono is like the wind rustling through the trees: at times, she is invisible to the public eye; at other moments she emerges as a thunderous spokesperson for peace. Ono was integral in developing the avant-garde art movement which, compared to her collaborative works with John Lennon, went unnoticed by most of mainstream media. The war with Iraq has instigated a whirlwind of activity for Ono as she has led several peace endeavors; some were anonymous projects. The wind never tires, nor does Ono’s pursuit and efforts for peace.
Her first name translates as “ocean child,” aptly describing her trans-Pacific childhood in America and Japan. Ono experienced World War II in Japan’s ravaged state as well as post-war terror and uncertainty in America. This transcontinental experience informed her perception of world relations at a young age. Seeing both sides of destruction in Japan and the United States furthered her passion for and pursuit of peace.
In order to understand Yoko Ono’s peace initiatives, lineage to her roots in the late 1950s group, Fluxus, is imperative to note. Ono was one of the first members of this international avant-garde group, which radically dissented against the traditions of modern art. The term “Fluxus” is the literal Latin translation of “flow” or “change,” which correlated with the transformation in art practices around the world and for many post war countries, a re-examination of national identity. Ono and many other contributors to the Fluxus movement fluidly crossed disciplines and often addressed social and political issues; during this time, she produced experimental performances, musical compositions, poetry, and art linked to Zen Buddhist philosophy.
Dadaist poet and critic Takiguchi Shuzo once wrote: “Poetry is not belief. It is not logic. It is action.” 2 During her involvement with the Fluxus movement, Ono developed a series of pieces entitled “instructions,” which consisted of a simple enactment of a banal activity or a set of directions for the viewer to complete. In one of the earliest performances, “Lighting Piece,” (1955), the artist appeared on stage, lit a match, and asked viewers to watch the burning flame until it disappeared. The score version of “Painting To Be Constructed in Your Head,” (1962) is another sequence of poem-like commands written in Japanese on a piece of paper. The directives begin with imagining a square canvas and then changing it into a circle. The artwork is formed solely in the viewer’s mind.
Ono often executed performance pieces outside of traditional theatre settings. In July of 1964, Ono developed a three-day program titled, “Evening till Dawn.” A Kyoto Zen monastery, Nanzenji, opened its doors to Ono and her collaborators, Anthony Cox and Al Wunderlich, for a portion of the event. Roughly 50 people gathered at the temple gate. Each was given a card with the instruction: “silence.” Later the participants received the word “touch” on another card as they entered the garden. Some enacted the instructions physically, while others mediated on the word. These early endeavors prompted audience members to use their consciousness to create the artwork or participate in the performance. In many instances, the viewer became a central component to the final piece. Dissolving the wall between art and audience became a mode of practice for Ono and played a key role in her later bed-ins for peace and billboard campaigns.
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