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By LYNNE ALMAN
An afternoon with Yoko Ono was scheduled to start at 2:30PM. I arrived at 2PM and there was already a long line of people waiting to get inside. Seating was on a first come first serve basis,so naturally everyone wanted to get a good seat. There was also a long line of people waiting to get into the exhibit itself,because this was its first day.
I also noticed that they had a separate room set up with a large screen,so that museum members could watch a live simulcast of the performance lecture event. This room looked like it could hold about 100-150 people.
I joined the line of people waiting to get into the auditorium,and after waiting only a few minutes,the line starting moving. As the line filed towards the auditorium door,I saw a man standing off to the side of the line. He was holding up a photo of Yoko,onto which he had drawn a caption coming from Yoko's mouth,and in the caption he had written that he was looking for an extra ticket. I felt sorry for him,and I felt very lucky that I was one of only 229 people who would get inside.
Cameras,audio,and video equipment were not allowed inside,so I was not able to get any photos,but I took in paper and pen and took notes.
As I entered the Phyllis Wattis auditorium,I saw that there were 2 sections of seats and the section closer to the stage was already filled up,so I sat in the rear section,but I was in the front of that section. And because the auditorium was relatively small,I could still see and hear very well. I surveyed the scene before me and made note of what was on stage. The stage was covered with a nice Persian-looking rug. In the middle of the stage there were 2 chairs facing the audience with a small table between them,and on the table were 2 bottles of water and 2 glasses. Behind the chairs there was a large white screen. To the right of the chairs there were 2 harps,one was a large classic-looking harp,and the other one was smaller and on a stand,and was a very different-looking electric harp. To the left of the chairs,I saw a large cloth black bag,2 clear glass jars,and 2 balls of yarn.
Then Yoko came out and everyone got quiet and started clapping. But it turns out she was just trying to get to the other side of backstage,so she just runs across the stage,and disappears. At that point Jon Hendricks(her curator/archivist)who is sitting in the front row,stands up and says "That was it!",and everyone laughs!
About 5 minutes later(at 2:40PM)John Weber,one of the curators at SFMOMA,comes out and gives a brief introduction. He also mentions the War Is Over billboard which is behind the museum. Then Yoko came out,along with Paul Schimmel(Chief Curator at The Museum of Contemporary Art,Los Angeles,and the editor of the book Out Of Actions),and John Weber leaves the stage. Yoko & Paul Schimmel sit in the 2 chairs with Paul in the left chair. Yoko was,as usual,looking lovely,in black slacks,a black shirt,a white jacket,black boots,and a black scarf. She was wearing small sunglasses.
Paul Schimmel then does a live interview with Yoko. He asks her many questions starting with the very first time she came to San Francisco when she was 2 1/2 years old. She has many memories of meeting her father for the first time on that trip,and of how pretty San Francisco was. She also says that many people have asked her if she remembered seeing the Golden Gate bridge during this visit,and she says "It wasn't built yet!". The questions he asked her followed a timeline starting with this first visit to San Francisco,moving through her experiences during World War II,and then into her NYC loft concerts,and her association with the group of artists known as Fluxus. During the interview,the audience seemed very into it,laughing at several points.
Then when they got to the part of the interview where he was asking her about her work Cut Piece,they showed a film on the large screen of Yoko's 1965 performance of Cut Piece. Cut Piece is a piece where Yoko sits motionless on a stage in her best suit of clothes,with a pair of scissors on the stage in front of her. And audience members come up one at a time and snip off pieces of her clothing,until she is completely undressed. It's a very potent piece,and it was so exciting to view it on a large screen,with Yoko there in the room.
And then while Cut Piece was still showing on the large screen,Yoko & Paul Schimmel crawled into the large cloth black bag to perform Bag Piece. It was so much fun to watch! They were wriggling around inside the bag together,and of course,the mind conjures up all sorts of images. This piece really forces the viewer to use their imagination. Yoko must have still been wearing her microphone,because at one point we could all hear her whisper to Paul Schimmel "Take off your jacket",and the audience roared with laughter!
Yoko & Paul Schimmel took off several pieces of clothing,we could see the clothing coming out of the bag,piece by piece. And all the while,Cut Piece was still playing on the large screen behind them. Yoko was being disrobed on the screen,and at the same time she was disrobing on stage in the black bag. It was so powerful to see these 2 pieces performed together! What an intense combination: seeing Yoko on the screen being vulnerable & giving control to others,and then at the same time on the stage she's taking control,still giving of herself to others,but in a much more dominant role. She's exposing herself,rather than being exposed.
And the audience absolutely loved Bag Piece! They snickered and laughed throughout the piece,and after Yoko & Paul Schimmel re-clothed themselves inside the bag,and emerged from the bag,the audience gave a standing ovation.
After emerging from the bag,Paul Schimmel left the stage,and Yoko introduced her son Sean Lennon(!),and harpist Zenna Perkins of NYC. And these 3 performed 2 songs: Mulberry & Franklin Summer. Sean played slide acoustic guitar,seated,while Yoko "did her thing all over us"(to use the words of John Lennon). And boy did she ever! I was literally on the edge of my seat,enthralled,eyes big as saucers. I was mesmerized,and taken completely out of myself,sucked into the raw emotions on stage. And Yoko(who was now just in slacks,tank top,and bare feet),looks and moves so much younger than her 69 years! And she moves a lot while singing,she really feels the music,and conveys her feelings with both her vocalizations and her movements.
Yoko's vocalizations blended perfectly with Sean's slide guitar and with that wild electric harp,and the vocal and instrumental sounds were at times almost indistinguishable from one another. Their interplay was amazing,and during Mulberry,the energy levels just kept rising until I was sure that somewhere in that room there would be some spotaneous combustion! It was such a joyful experience for me,and quite obviously for Yoko,Sean,and Zenna as well. And I was really impressed with both Sean's & Zenna's musical abilities. I already knew how talented Sean is,but I had never heard Zenna before,and she's absolutely incredible. Her harp sounds are the perfect accompaniment to Yoko's vocals and Sean's guitar.
After performing the 2 songs,Yoko had helpers hand out pieces of Puzzle Piece,and she said we would meet again in 10 years to put the puzzle back together. The backs of the puzzle pieces had 091101 printed on them,as a tribute to the horrible events that took place on that day,and to the people who lost their lives.
Then came the time for audience questions,and during the question & answer period,the audience was being wrapped together in light blue yarn. After I was wrapped I noticed that my every move would affect others,it would tighten the yarn on them,and this really made me notice that we are all in 'this' together. That's the message-we are all one,and we need to work together to make changes in the world. Also during the question and answer period,Yoko's assistant Curt Fritzeen and her curator/archivist Jon Hendricks,sat on the stage floor and cut off pieces of yarn the length of the questions and the answers,and filled the glass jars with the cut pieces of yarn. One of them cut for the questions and the other one cut for the answers.
A few examples of some of the audience questions & Yoko's answers:
Someone asked Yoko how she felt about giving autographs,to which Yoko replied,"If I can make somebody happy by scribbling my name,I'm a lucky person".
Asked if she was an artist or an activist,and Yoko replied,"We're all activists,whatever you're doing is affecting the world".
Then a woman stood up and sounded like she was almost in tears,and she made a long comment about how she thought Yoko's early work was narcissistic,and that now after hearing Yoko speak with Paul Schimmel,she now understood why Yoko's early work was narcissistic,because Yoko didn't have many playmates as a child and had to focus on herself. Yoko replied,explaining that in the early days,her "pride kept me going",and that "it's alright to love yourself,and feel good about yourself,especially when others were not enjoying my work,but I did".
Sean responded,totally defending his mother,and he said he thought that Yoko's work was the opposite of narcissistic,because her art becomes a part of everyone,like with the audience being wrapped in yarn,we're all a part of the performance. That with Yoko's art,she wasn't focussing on herself,but was including everyone. After hearing this,Yoko walked over to him and gave him a big hug and said "Thank You Sean",it was a very touching moment! I thought the whole narcissistic comment was very odd,and I don't see how anyone could interpret Yoko's work that way. Yoko's work is SO about inviting the viewer to participate,if only in their mind,so that rather than focussing on herself Yoko completely directs the focus of the work onto the viewer/participant.
I think there were a few more questions after the Narcissistic one,but I can't remember them,I was so flabbergasted at that point,that I lost my focus!
The question & answer period was the end of 'An Afternoon With Yoko',but afterwards Yoko & Sean stayed on stage for about 20 minutes talking to fans and signing autographs. I asked Sean if he was working on a new album,and he said that he is. I also saw Elliot Mintz milling about on stage,looking dapper in an expensive-looking suit.
To Sum It All Up: I cannot even begin to express how wonderful this 'Afternoon With Yoko' was for me! It was at once fun,thought-provoking,touching,humorous, and cutting-edge. Yoko continues to surprise,inspire,and titillate me. On this afternoon she showed me her warmth,sense of humor,concern for mankind & the world,compassion,intelligence,and unwavering positive attitude. She was,in essence,the Yoko I know her to be.
