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As for the art itself, it’s a typically eccentric mix that has all the hallmarks of Ono’s six-decade career as an avant-garde modern artist. It can be unsettling, guileless, thought-provoking, absurd, humorous and timely all at once.
Film No. 4 (Bottoms), which will be shown on an endless loop as part of the exhibit, is from 1967 and features close-ups of the bare posteriors of 365 of Ono’s acquaintances.
“They invited friends that they knew, artists and people from the creative space,” says Ananda. “It’s a comment on protest and marching, which is why they are all walking.”
Another film, Ono’s 1970 Fly, starts with a close-up of a fly that slowly expands to show a naked woman covered in the insects. It’s made even more unsettling because it comes complete with a screeching voice-only soundtrack supplied by Ono herself.
Helmets — Pieces of Sky is made up of police riot helmets hanging from the ceiling. Inside the helmets are jigsaw puzzles of the blue sky that visitors are encouraged to complete. First conceived by Ono in 2001 — and in previous exhibitions made up of soldiers’ helmets from the First World War — it’s one of many pieces that now seems disturbingly prescient.
“With a lot of her pieces, the message just never gets old,” says Ananda. “It may not be in the same context … it may not be the same kind of war, but the message is still relevant.”
Further to the show’s interactive spirit, Contemporary Calgary was also given ample opportunity to put its own stamp on the exhibit, which was first organized by Montreal’s Phi Foundation for Contemporary art. Part of the exhibition is called Water Event, which had six local Indigenous artists — including Judy Anderson, seth cardinal dodginghorse, Faye HeavyShield, Kablusiak, Jesse Ray Short, Adrian A. Stimson — creating a water container. In late July, Ono put out a call to women around the world to send in a testament “of harm done to you for being a woman” as part of her ongoing Arising project. Participants were also asked to send photographs of their eyes, making for one of the more powerful works in the show. Because the deadline is open, Contemporary Calgary will be adding new testaments and photos as they come in until the exhibit closes on Jan. 31. On top of that, most of the work found in The Instructions of Yoko Ono was not shipped in from Ono’s New York studio but built by Contemporary Calgary specifically for this iteration of the exhibit.
