b. 1933
Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist Yoko Ono was born in Tokyo in 1933. Ono was an influential figure in early conceptual and participatory art, film and performance. She graduated from Gakushūin University in 1951, before moving to New York City in 1952 where she became involved with the city’s downtown artists scene in the early 60s, contributing to the radical Fluxus movement. In 1969, Ono’s marriage to English musician John Lennon of the Beatles brought her instant celebrity, the consequences of which were mixed. The couple’s weeklong, anti-war protests bed-ins (1969), became some of Ono’s most famous work and boldly communicated her commitment to social justice.
Ono’s earliest works were often based on instructions that she communicated to the public. For years Ono continued to perform with her avant-garde Plastic Ono Band and promote world peace through her ongoing WAR IS OVER! campaign. More recently, she has embraced social media to share her artistic and activist messages to even wider audiences.
