"Grape Fruits" by Yoko Ono

"Grapefruit: Yoko Ono in 1964". The first survey of this kind, the exhibition will give an in-depth and comprehensive look at a pivotal year in the career of this internationally acknowledged artist. In 1964, two significant events took place: the collection of her instruction pieces, in the book Grapefruit, an important foundation for Ono’s body of work; 

and the artist’s decision to move back to New York after two years of living and working in Japan. Looking back at her career, in 1999, Ono explained that many of her works were influenced by the fact that she is a woman. However, in her recent exhibitions, Ono’s early works have been assimilated into the masculinist languages of Conceptualism and Fluxus. Except for Cut Piece, her gender doesn’t seem to count among the works made before the gains won by the feminist movement in the 1970s. The exhibition’s intent, therefore, is not to impose a certain interpretation on Ono’s art, but to enable spectators to examine the various cultural, social, and autobiographical elements on display—including her autobiographical article “My Love, My Conflict,” first published in 1974 in a magazine called Bungei Shunjû—and thus explore her works in her own words as well.

In keeping with the original spirit of 1964, the artists Nancy Hwang, Hiroko Kikuchi, and the artist collective Praxis, respectively, will interpret Ono’s instructions for Touch Piece, Cut Piece, and Water Piece on three consecutive Saturday evenings during the exhibition.

"Grapefruit: Yoko Ono in 1964" is curated and organized by Midori Yamamura as a part of ISE Cultural Foundation’s emerging curator series. Yamamura is a Ph.D. candidate in art history at CUNY Graduate Center. The idea for the exhibition arose out of a seminar on “Women’s Art / Feminist Art” taught by Professor Anna C. Chave. The exhibition would not have been possible without Yoko Ono’s generous cooperation and permission to utilize her materials. Helping shape the exhibition were Jon Hendricks, Professor Chave, Kevin Concannon, Luis H. Francia, Nancy Hwang, Akiko & Taka Iimura, Reiko Tomii, Midori Yoshimoto, and White Noise. It is partially funded by the Japan Foundation, as part of a series of events marking the 150th anniversary of U.S. Japan relations, with fiscal sponsorship by the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. "Grapefruit: Yoko Ono in 1964" will remain on view until May 15, 2004.