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Yoko Ono turns 90: Between art, Beatles and Lennon, some curiosities in pictures
Yoko Ono turns 90 years old. She became world-famous for her marriage to the Beatles, John Lennon singer and for her influence on the singer's artistic career, but she was known before that for being one of the first artists in the world in the 1960s to explore conceptual and performance art.
Much criticized by critics throughout her career, her art has been reevaluated in recent years, so much so that she has won numerous awards in recent times. Yoko Ono has often been accused, especially by fans of Beatles, of being the main cause of the disbandment of the Fab Four, even though hints for a split between them existed before.
On the day of her 90th birthday, we want to tell some interesting facts about an artist who, in one way or another, made history.
The art of Yoko Ono between criticism and revaluation
Yoko Ono is one of the first artists to explore conceptual and performance art. During most of her career her works were highly criticized by experts, such as the critics of London Evening Standard and also by the New York Times. Recently, her works have been reevaluated, so much so that she has also received numerous awards, such as the American Award of the International Association of Art Critics, considered one of the most important awards in the museum field, and even an honorary degree in Law from the University of Liverpool.
Yoko Ono And activism in politics
Since the 1960s, Yoko Ono was very active in favor of human rights and pacifism. The most famous initiative is undoubtedly Bed-In for peace in the bridal suite of the Hotel Hilton in Amsterdam. Their honeymoon turned into a protest against the war in Vietnam, taking advantage of the huge media coverage that their wedding had received. They thus spent their honeymoon, talking about world peace, in front of disappointed journalists who had hoped to catch themselves making love.
The relationship with the Beatles
The relationship with the band was very troubled. Both in the recordings of "White Album" and for "Abbey Road", Lennon invited Ono into the studio. This fact increased the tension already present among the band members in the late 1960s. However, some believe that Yoko Ono 's influence on John Lennon 's art was very positive for the singer.
Music career
Yoko Ono and John Lennon collaborated on numerous albums, starting as early as 1968, before the disbanding of Beatles, with Unfinished Music No.1 - Two Virgins, a particularly experimental electronic music album. In general, Ono has won numerous accolades in music regardless of Lennon, going so far as to collaborate with big names in experimental music such as John Cage and the jazz musician Ornette Coleman.
The difficult relations with Paul McCartney
Yoko Ono had very difficult relations with Paul McCartney because of the authorship of Beatles songs, which were signed Lennon-McCartney regardless of who actually authored them. This feud between McCartney and Yoko Ono continued after Lennon's death. Relations then relaxed during the 2000s, but there remains in the collective imagination this feud. Yoko Ono is still seen today, by many people, as a stereotype of all women who, through their relationships, have ruined music bands. Assumptions, this one, however, belied by most and gives an incorrect image of what Yoko Ono was for Beatles and Lennon.
Life with John Lennon
The two met at an exhibition of Ono at the Indica Gallery in London on November 9, 1966. They married in Gibraltar in 1969 (given the impossibility of marrying in London and Paris for bureaucratic reasons). The two only had one child, Sean, after numerous miscarriages by Ono. Lennon also often mentioned her in his songs, even when he was still with the Beatles: for example in "The Ballad of John and Yoko" he also mentioned her implicitly in Julia, a song dedicated to his mother.
Yoko Ono today
The widow of John Lennon, who arrived today at the age of 90, has been ill for some time now, so long that she needs continuous care. However, her image will remain one of the most iconic throughout the 20th century. Happy birthday Yoko.