Imagine: The Peace Ballad of John & Yoko
Ahh, there’s nothing like the smell of postmodernism in the morning! The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is hosting “Imagine: The Peace Ballad of John & Yoko”, a contemporary arts’ wet dream. While the names must be familiar to you (the couple who broke up the Beatles), the art may not be. Yoko Ono is not just a scary Japanese woman who lured John Lennon away from the most popular band in the world – she is a highly influential avant-garde artist, musician, and peace activist. The exhibit showed my introduction to her work, “Cut Piece”. Audience members were invited to come on stage and cut away a piece of her clothing.The most wonderful thing about the avant-garde movement is its ability to elicit questions. I’m sure some of you are asking “how is this art?” Undoubtedly, the term “art” has been revolutionalized and perverted over the years to mean something quite removed from Renaissance paintings and other such traditional forms. I love the interactiveness of the avant-garde. The exhibit included a piece where you can hammer a nail into a piece of would to contribute to the art, a series of chessboards (the pieces were all white), stamps and paper, tags to hang on trees, a collection of relevant books, and a bed to imagine in
I have a feeling that everyone thinks John Lennon just faded away after the Beatles broke up. It’s like he just wandered around doing nothing until his untimely death. Not quite. He and Yoko formed the Plastic Ono band which was this avant-garde supergroup before the Beatles fell apart and both Ringo Starr and George Harrison performed with them. The only “real” album Plastic Ono Band ever had was “Live Peace in Toronto 1969″ which, true to its title, was a live album recorded in Toronto in 1969 whose tracks promoted peace and love.
I unfortunately forgot to bring my camera but here are some from Eva Blue on Flickr:
If you’ll be in Montreal from now until June 21st, be sure to pay the MMFA a visit! The exhibit is FREE. If you won’t be in the city, check out this nifty virtual tour. And of course, be sure to visit the Imagine Peace website.
John Lennon – Imagine
John Lennon – Woman is the Nigger of the World
John Lennon – Power to the People
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