Gallery Hop: Yoko Ono Touches Me
At Yoko Onos opening reception for her exhibit [Touch Me at Galerie Lelong], the place was packed and Ono was in attendance. But there were too many people there for me to get a grasp what was actually going on.
With Yoko, its always a matter of digging deeper. On the surface, sometimes there doesnt seem to be that much there. This is intentional. This concept has been the foundation of her entire, 40-some-year career. Still, this can be frustrating at times; so much so that at first I was tempted to get negative. I wanted to be fair, however, so I went back for a second look without the hordes in attendance. Im glad that I did and urge you to take a little time and examine the entire exhibition.
Yoko is of course, a pioneer. She was one of the founders of Fluxus, a Dada influenced movement which encouraged a DIY philosophy. It was subversive in mocking the over-intellectualized world of abstract expressionism of the 1950s. Fluxus provides the base for her to use elements of humor, the macabre and shock value combined with the heaviness of mental anguish. Rarely do I see an artist who is so perfect for a medium.
On exhibit is a showing of her famous mid-'60s work Cut Piece. This is the performance piece where she sat on a stage while the audience would come up and each cut a piece of her clothing, until she was naked. On display are both footage of an historic 1965 Carnegie Hall performance was followed by a 2003 reprise at the Theatre le Ranelagh in Paris. This is shown on four screens and played back at slightly different times. I have to say that, in the current version, she is in tremendous physical condition. She appears to be defying age. What was originally conceived as an act of vulnerability, now exudes strength and survival.
Cut Piece, with its historical context/transformation set the stage for Onos central piece: Interactive Painting. A massive canvas (the width of the gallery) is hung from the ceiling. Various holes are cut in it and viewers are instructed to put a body part through a hole. Also, she supplied Polaroid cameras where we were encouraged to take a picture of ourselves and either bring it home, or pin the photo to another canvas, thus creating a new piece of work (which is what I did). Sharpies were supplied for writing a caption under the picture. I was there solo, but Yoko has someone there to take the picture. I stuck my arm through one of the holes and extended my hand. My caption was I gotta hand it to you, Yoko.
Among the other pieces is Vertical Memory, which is made up of photos consisting of a composites of male faces: Lennon, her father and her son, Sean. Below each one are short statements where she addresses the journey from cradle to grave. Even though her face wasnt included, all of the pictures resembled Yoko.
Through May 31. [Galerie Lelong], 528 W. 26th St. (betw. 10th & 11th Aves.),