By Laura Kelly
Yoko Ono is among the most famous living artists in the world today. A creative powerhouse, she has been at the forefront of contemporary art and activism for more than 60 years. But her life and her public image is indelibly marked by her marriage in 1969 to John Lennon. A double-edged sword, the creative partnership is both the reason why almost everyone knows who she is… and why far too many people underestimate her as an artist in her own right.
Next week a major new retrospective, Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind, opens at Tate Modern in London. It’s an opportunity to experience her work on its own terms, beyond the shadow of The Beatles. “It felt very timely to re-examine her work through the context of global current events, especially given her interest in activism and humanitarian causes,” says Andrew de Brún, assistant curator of the exhibition. “Her practice still has the same power to create discussion and debate. It’s as thought-provoking today as ever.”
In researching the show, de Brún was fascinated to find out how much of Ono’s activism stemmed from her time in London in the 1960s. “She became embedded in this countercultural movement of avant garde artists in London,” he says. “And ultimately, that’s where she met John Lennon.”
Her relationship with Lennon shot her into a “stratospheric world” of fame, “where she really has to contend with the idea of mass culture and mass recognition,” de Brún adds. “She took advantage of the power of the media and the focus on her to put out her message of global peace.”
With fame came a huge backlash – strongly influenced by racism and sexism. “It’s hard to imagine how someone in her position could keep going with her work,” says de Brún. “But one of the things that we have been really taken aback by time and time again in working with her is just her endless positivity and optimism. She is incredibly resilient.”
Ultimately Ono’s desire is for people to come together and imagine a more hopeful future, because, as she and Lennon put it: “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”
Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind is at the Tate Modern from 15 February-1 September. tate.org.uk @laurakaykelly
Planting a seed for a better future
In 1968, Yoko Ono and John Lennon had been together for just a few months when they created their first joint work. Appearing for th
