Tag Archives: fluxus

Research Critique Assignments: Yoko Ono: Cut Piece

Cut Piece by Yoko Ono

To go straight ahead into critique Cut Piece and how it fits into the Collective Narrative, I have taken the summarize explanation of Cut Piece from the book of Art & Feminism for you to read and understand what Cut Piece is all about.

“In this performance Ono sat on a stage and invited the audience to approach her and cut away her clothing, so it gradually fell away from her body. Challenging the neutrality of the relationship between viewer and art object, Ono presented a situation in which the viewer was implicated in the potentially aggressive act of unveiling the female body, which served historically as one such ‘neutral’ and anonymous subject for art. Emphasizing the reciprocal way in which viewers and subjects become objects or each other, Cut Piece also demonstrates how viewing without responsibility has the potential to harm or even destroy the object of perception.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYJ3dPwa2tI

Yoko Ono is an important artist in the Fluxus art movement and  her work fits in the collective narrative model. I was lucky to be able to visit Yoko Ono: One Woman Show in MoMA when I was in New York 2 weeks ago.

https://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1544IMG_2112

As the idea of The Collective Narrative is about social interaction and exchanges of conversation, ideas and information, I feel Cut Piece is a good example. Cut Piece does not work just by Yoko Ono, Cut Piece needed the audience participation in order for it to happen. However, as the idea of the collective narrative is more than just audience participation, it is also about sharing and exchanging of thoughts and hearing other people voices. In this case, Cut Piece does not comply with this. I personally feel that Cut Piece has only one voice and that is Yoko Ono’s. The audience participation only makes Yoko Ono’s voice heard louder. By allowing the audience to cut her dress bit by bit, she radically critique the role of women in society. But what if the audience do not want to get involved? Will the meaning of Cut Piece change then? I think the Cut Piece was force due to the fact that this performance need an audience participation. If nobody in the audience wants to cut Yoko Ono’s dress, then I think Cut Piece won’t be discussed much today. DSC08502 copy

As I was viewing the video at MoMA, there were a few crowd looking at the video of Cut Piece being projected onto the wall. As I already knew of Cut Piece, I briefly explained it to my girlfriend who is with me. Our attention was short as we need to cover more space within a short period of time. But I think we stayed for a good 30 seconds and I feel that is good enough for one to understand what Cut Piece is all about though.DSC08503 copy

Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece reminds me of Marina Abramovic’s Rhythm 0 where the audience are free to do whatever they want to Marina with the items that were available such as a loaded gun, knife, hammer, saw and there’s even a condom. Marina’s Rhythm 0 makes Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece seems so conservative and small though.

As audiences gets more brave with time through out both performances, things get escalated quickly. As Marina Abramovic isn’t worry about getting nude, Yoko Ono was holding her bra after an audience member cut her bra strap. This makes Yoko Ono more conservative unlike Marina. This means Yoko Ono is preventing full audience control of the performance.

In Summary, having a Collective Narrative concept in any art is important if the meaning involves other people’s participation, be it the result is exactly how one think it should be or not. Even though Cut Piece deserve some respect for its avant garde and a first of its kind during its time, Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece is actually thought provoking and it makes me wonder, what are the thoughts going through the audience mind when they are cutting Ono’s dress. Are they happy about able to keep a piece of history or are they just a representation of how men view woman as objects rather than subject.

 

 

What is Art?

If you ask me what is art today, I would say that it is about a form of expression and emotion. But if you ask me what is art 10 years ago, I would say Art is the fresh coat of paint design on the HDB block.

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me with duchamp

I have a brand new definition of art when I leave MOMA and the Met in New York. To me, Art is a process. A process so sophisticated that it changes everyday.

For example, back in 16th Century, those craftsmen who did those Ceylon casket and presenting it to Queen Catherine as a piece of art. But now, we called these caskets as antiquities and even might able to label such similar items as relic. We might agree that it still a piece of art today as compare to the 16th Century, however, today’s definition of art is not affirmative to call it art and exhibit it in a museum beside a Rothko.

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I guess I can define Art as categories as well. Like how Jackson Pollock won’t be exhibited in the Asian Civilisation Museum but a work from Justin Lee will.

As much as art is a freedom of expression, there are bodies who wants to control Art like those big art house. Art become commercialise like Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons but it’s all good, art makes the money go round.

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Claude Monet, Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond, c. 1920, 200 × 1,276 cm (78.74 × 502.36 in), oil on canvas, Museum of Modern Art, New York City