As an artist, Yoko Ono expresses herself in multimedia and music. She is also known for her marriage to John Lennon of the Beatles. Aside from that, Ono grew up a Third Culture Kid (TCK) as she moved around multiple times.
Yoko Ono as a TCK artist
There are many ways to express oneself and let out emotions and feelings. One of those ways is through art, where it can be up for interpretation and can mean something different for one viewer to the next. Ono expresses herself artistically and vocally in many ways. She said in an interview with the Louisiana Channel that she thinks vocally expressing oneself is very important because it is the most unique sound each person has.
Changes that you are going through and all that is life, you know? And the sky is very permanent, not changing. Then we change. That is sort of our relationship, it is very interesting. Life is too complex. So it is almost confusing.
Yoko Ono in A Thing Called Life – Louisiana Channel Interview
As Ono moved around as a kid she always learned new ways of living and new cultures from one place to the next. But, she said, the sky never changes. From one place to another it is always the same and it is people and cultures who change. Everyone looks up and sees the same sky — the difference is who is looking at it and how they interpret it.
For many TCKs, they have to learn new cultures as they move, but this permanence of the sky can be used as a metaphor to help them know the sky will never change. It can be comforting to know that that is something that will remain the same from one move to the next.
‘Cut Piece’
“Cut Piece,” performed in 1964, is one of Ono’s most recognized performances. In this performance, Yoko Ono sat on a stage wearing a nice suit with a pair of scissors in front of her and had the audience snip off pieces of her clothing. Ono told The Guardian the performance was a way to show how Buddha surrendered and gave up everything. It is a way to show acceptance and femininity. It can also be interpreted as how Ono left pieces of herself with people as she moved from one place to another.
“Art and life are the same thing for Ono. Her work is acutely, often shockingly personal.”
The Guardian on Yoko Ono
Ono’s emotions are known and shown in each expression of art she does: Her tone in voice, the pressure of her strokes and the deeper meanings behind each expression of art she creates.
‘Wish Tree’
Another one of Ono’s iconic works of art is the “Wish Tree.” Ono has people write down a wish on a piece of paper then tie it to a live tree. This is something Ono would do at her temple’s courtyard in Japan, according to Publicdelivery.org. Everyone can walk around and see all the wishes made by people. Some are serious and some are more lighthearted. Theartstory.org says trees are set up in museums and the tags get returned to Ono to bury at her “Imagine Peace Tower” in Iceland.
