A friend just sent me this LINK to Yoko Ono's newest exhibition,
to which I have a definite response. I've had the strong desire as
of late to write a treatise on art; this story seems to have prompted
my first installment:
The Tale of Yoko Ono and Mr. Platt
Though the above title could be mistaken easily for that of a Beatles song, this writing relates to an earlier story about John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono.
Years ago, Ms. Ono had her 1994 painting entitled ''Part Painting - A Circle'' (consisting of 24 large white canvases) on display at a prominent gallery. This "piece" had nothing more than a wide, horizontal black line painted across each canvas–-suggesting, I am told, an endless horizon.
Well, Mr. Platt was a strong adherent to the concept of "Fluxus" (broadly proliferated by way of a 60's school of social research which “explored notions of indeterminacy in art",) and believed that the purpose of art was not just to look, but to participate. A sign also hung in the gallery that bore a quote from Ms. Ono that read: ''No one can tell you not to touch the art.''
As the story goes, Mr. Platt was suddenly inspired to pull out his pocket Sharpie and draw a red line under the black line on the canvases.
You reap what you sow?
As you've probably guessed, Mr. Platt's contribution to Yoko's piece "valued at $240,000" was not considered art by that city's police department.
~
The Tale of Yoko Ono and Mr. Platt
Though the above title could be mistaken easily for that of a Beatles song, this writing relates to an earlier story about John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono.
Years ago, Ms. Ono had her 1994 painting entitled ''Part Painting - A Circle'' (consisting of 24 large white canvases) on display at a prominent gallery. This "piece" had nothing more than a wide, horizontal black line painted across each canvas–-suggesting, I am told, an endless horizon.
Well, Mr. Platt was a strong adherent to the concept of "Fluxus" (broadly proliferated by way of a 60's school of social research which “explored notions of indeterminacy in art",) and believed that the purpose of art was not just to look, but to participate. A sign also hung in the gallery that bore a quote from Ms. Ono that read: ''No one can tell you not to touch the art.''
As the story goes, Mr. Platt was suddenly inspired to pull out his pocket Sharpie and draw a red line under the black line on the canvases.
You reap what you sow?
As you've probably guessed, Mr. Platt's contribution to Yoko's piece "valued at $240,000" was not considered art by that city's police department.
~
My whole point is to demonstrate what the art world societal elite is currently instructing you to value, and to ask you to question that. I certainly do.
Art is, at its very core, communication. As such, once created it is bestowed to the recipient, who will now make all decisions pertaining to that creation and its “value”.
As far as my personal feelings about the subject of Art, here is an excerpt from my published article of March 2008:
"It is my viewpoint that since art has such a unique and key role in our society that this responsibility can not be abused or ignored or left for someone else to address.
"My goal with not only my art, but with all my upcoming artistic projects involving others, is to enrich the society–-to raise one person at a time and as an end result, the civilization as a whole. I see this as the higher intrinsic responsibility of artists.
“This belief is reflected in a very applicable quote by Michelangelo: ‘The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark’.
"Artists of any field have an undeniable responsibility with regard to the state of mankind as their voice is broad and impacts all peoples of Earth. Art is, in essence, communication. As an artist, your true greatness lies only in what you choose to communicate or to bring to life."
~Ana
