Response 5: Performance Artist

The artist I have selected was Yoko Ono. She is a Japanese artist well known for her performance artist, vocalist, filmmaker, and object maker. In addition, she is the wife of a beetle’s member John Lennon. A well-known performance work she has done was called “Cut Piece.” The performance is she sitting on the floor and music would be playing in the background. Then, the audience would go up to her one by one and use the scissor already on the ground. Then let the audience members cut off pieces of clothing she was wearing until she had nothing left. The influence she wanted the audience to understand was existentialism through the theories of Jean-Pual Sartre when she was studying in college and to tell the audience about her calming down her own human suffering. Also, Yoko Ono used the audience involvement to complete her works of art successfully, then finding her identity. As a result, she displays to the audience about gender and sexism in the performance. Furthermore, telling the audience about human suffering, loneliness, social unity and love in her works. Overall, I found Yoko Ono’s idea of displaying his influences very strongly thought out that leaves the audience remembering the idea since she “forces” the audience to be involved. Thus, the audience will remember this contribution into the performance art.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoko_Ono#Bibliography