Cut Piece

Cut Piece

Yoko Ono’s 'Cut Piece' was first performed at the Yamaichi Concert Hall, Tokyo on July 20, 1964. During the performance, Ono welcomes the audience to come to the stage and cut off pieces of her clothing. Meg DiRuggiero at Bates College writes about the significance of the piece: “Art to Ono is no longer about the artist giving the audience the established, final product. It is instead about the audience influencing the art. There is also never a definitive ending, only one chosen by Ono, and the duration of the performance changes with the audience…There has been analysis done that imagines this piece is a protest against war, particularly the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The way Ono’s clothing is cut and torn replicates the clothing of the people of Japan after the bomb fell…There is hope that audience members will look at their cut pieces of clothing, remember the turmoil caused by war, and change their actions to bring about peace.”

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