Yoko Ono: mended cups, an illy Art Collection, consists of six cups that bear gold, ‘shattered’ and ‘mended’ crack lines – accompanied by six individual saucers that state, in Yoko Ono’s handwriting, six catastrophic events that have affected the world; some have directly affected her life, and others only indirectly, yet bringing death to millions of people. Each saucer states the date and place of the tragic event and concludes with the words
“… mended in 2015.”.
The seventh cup in the collection, UNBROKEN CUP, is untouched with no cracked or mended lines, reflecting peace and hope with Ono’s handwritten words on the saucer, "This cup will never be broken as it will be under your protection".
YOKO ONO - BIOGRAPHY
born: bird year
early childhood: collected skys
adolescence: collected sea-weeds
late adolescence:
gave birth to a grapefruit
collected snails, clouds, garbage
cans, etc. Have graduated many
schools specializing in these
subjects
at present: traveling as a private lecturer of the
above subjects and others
recipient of Hal Kaplow Award
YOKO ONO - STATEMENT
People went on cutting the parts they do not like of
me finally there was only the stone remained of me
that was in me but they were still not satisfied and
wanted to know what it’s like in the stone.
y.o.
P.S. If the butterflies in your stomach die, send
yellow death announcements to your friends.
Yoko Ono, Biography and Statement, published in The Stone (New York: Judson Gallery, 1966).
This cup was broken in Guernica
on April 26th 1937.
And mended in 2015
water talk
you are water
I’m water
we’re all water in different containers
that’s why it’s so easy to meet
someday we’ll evaporate together
but even after the water’s gone
we’ll probably point out to the containers
and say, “that’s me there, that one.”
we’re container minders
Yoko Ono, from Some Notes on the Lisson Gallery Show, London, 1967).
This cup was broken in Nanking
on December 13th 1937.
And mended in 2015
Reincarnation
Mirror becomes a razor when it’s broken.
A stick becomes a flute when it’s loved.
Yoko Ono, from Seven Little Stories, spring 1952.
This cup was broken in Dresden
on February 13th 1945.
And mended in 2015
Take off
Your pants
Before
You fight.
Make this the rule.
Yoko Ono, from DO IT YOURSELF FLUXFEST PRESENTS YOKO ONO & DANCE CO., first published in 3
NEWSPAPER EVENTS FOR THE PRICE OF $1 (FLUXUS NEWSPAPER NO.7, February 1966).
This cup was broken in Hiroshima
on August 6th 1945.
And mended in 2015
BEAT PIECE
Listen to a heart beat.
1963 autumn
Yoko Ono, first published in Grapefruit (Tokyo: Wunternaum Press, 1964).
This cup was broken in My Lai
on March 16th 1968.
And mended in 2015
VOICE PIECE FOR SOPRANO
Scream.
1. against the wind
2. against the wall
3. against the sky
1961 autumn
Yoko Ono, first published in Grapefruit (Tokyo: Wunternaum Press, 1964).
This cup was broken in New York City
on December 8th 1980.
And mended in 2015
When I was 5 years old, my mother always
told me that happiness was the key to life.
When I went to school, they asked me what
I wanted to be when I grew up.
I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t
understand the assignment, and I told them
they didn’t understand life.
John Lennon
Remains “When I was five years old…” by John Lennon
This cup will never be broken as it will be under your protection.
ONE
One is an immobile number. One is found in our bodies often as fixed
parts. We count ourselves as one but it might be better to count as
half a pair or a half when you think of the fact that our reproductive
organs can only function by meeting the other half.
One step is only half a move. Since we have two legs we have to take
two steps or jump in order to move from one position to the next.
One is before the cell splits in two. It is only mobile in the process of
becoming two. One as a force is a point – which does not extend like
a line. One constantly seeks for states of zero and two.
Yoko Ono, from On Numbers, fall 1971.