Art History - Yoko Ono

In my 2025-2026 school year plan, I decided that our January artist study would be Yoko Ono. (Here's the complete list of all the artists we've learned about so far.) So now let's dive into some resources and my planning notes:

Yoko Ono
1933 -

also

Yoko Ono page at Wikipedia

Yoko Ono page at tate.org.uk

articles at the New York Times

Is the Yokossance Finally Here?
Apr 8, 2025

John Lennon Came to My School When I Was 8. Or Did I Imagine It?
Jan 21, 2025

Following Yoko Ono’s Anarchic Instructions
Feb 15, 2024

Yoko Ono: One Woman Show: 1960–1971
MoMA (includes recordings of her voice)

Painting To Be Stepped On, 1960-61

Instructions for Paintings, 1961-62

Touch Poem for Group of People, 1963

Bag Piece, 1964

Cut Piece, 1964

Grapefruit, 1964

Morning Piece, 1964-65

Apple, 1966

Half-a-Room, 1967

Plastic Ono Band, 1968

Bed-In, 1969

A Box of Smile, 1984

To See the Sky, 2015

"Forget It"

All About Yoko Ono's Husbands: Toshi Ichiyanagi, Anthony Cox and John Lennon

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week of Jan 5:

Mon

Philosophy discussion, Is It Music?

here are my notes from this lesson in 2016, where I wrote down some of the children's comments... they are wonderful to read!

week of Jan 12:

Mon

look more closely at the instructions on the wall behind Yoko Ono at the start of that video... and consider whether we were completely misunderstanding her performance... it's not Music; it's Art
”Scream. 1. against the wind 2. against the wall 3. against the sky”

read blog post From a Whisper to a Scream: Following Yoko Ono’s Instructions

discuss the idea of "instruction pieces" as art

decide to turn the dogwood tree into a Wish Tree and invite parents, friends, and neighbors to add wishes to it

“Make a wish. Write it down on a piece of paper. Fold it and tie it around a branch of the wish tree. Ask your friend to do the same. Keep wishing.”

Yoko Ono is our January artist because I put them in order of birth... but it turns out very well to do a Wish Tree at the start of a new year!

"Wish Tree" (digital version)

Thu

read Wish: Wishing Traditions Around the World by Roseanne Thong


set up our Wish Tree

print and cut 2 inch x 1 1/2 inch slips of paper

collect wool yarn, scissors, pencils, and a hole punch

set up a sign by the tree explaining the project

put all of the supplies in a cookie tin

write the first wishes!

week of Jan 19:

Thu

Yoko Ono: One Woman Show: 1960–1971
MoMA (includes recordings of her voice)

listen to her voice first, then look at the artwork

Painting To Be Stepped On, 1960-61

Touch Poem for Group of People, 1963

Bag Piece, 1964

Cut Piece, 1964

look at the artwork first, then listen to her voice

Morning Piece, 1964-65

Apple, 1966

Half-a-Room, 1967


more ideas for exploring Bag Piece:

sit quietly inside a navy blue silk sleeping bag liner

read Nine Months: Before a Baby Is Born by Miranda Paul

does the bag
help you notice the passage of time and the changes you go through

read I Just Am: A Story of Down Syndrome Awareness and Tolerance

does the bag
strip away your exterior and then let you talk with people soul to soul

week of Jan 26:

Tue

read excerpts from Grapefruit and choose the ones we'd like to do

Wed

perform Name Piece by calling everyone by the color of their clothing

Thu

read Plink Plink Plink by Byrd Baylor



brainstorm all the sounds you hear in a day

perform Collecting Piece

perform Beat Piece (stethoscope)

perform Shadow Piece (sheet of white paper on the floor)

perform Mask Piece (blank paper mache masks, markers)

perform Conversation Piece (large bandage)

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