i HATE art

Art is a beautiful way to express emotion. However, some artist have created projects in the past that were considered disturbing or controversial. 

Our brief was to document one of these moments that we personally disliked.

Even though there are multiple times that I disliked art, I think that this is one of my most disliked art pieces.

This is a performance piece by Yoko Ono called 'Cut Piece'. 

Yoko Ono, Cut Piece, 1964

This was a performance piece. Ono was sitting at the middle of the stage, dressed up in a black dress. In front of her were some scissors. The audience was invited to come on stage and cut up a piece of her clothing and then keep it. 

Some cut a small part of her clothes or her skirt, whereas other people cut up large parts of her clothes.

'Others came boldly, snipping away the front of her blouse or the straps of her bra. Ono remained motionless and expressionless throughout, until, at her discretion, the performance ended.' (MoMa, n.d.)

Ono is portrayed as a sexual object, allowing people to have control of the amount of fabric they cut, without her moving. 

In this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfe2qhI5Ix4 , it is evident that towards the end she starts feeling uncomfortable with how sexually aggressive some people are. Even though she does not say anything, her facial expressions say a lot. 

This work is feminist art. “Cut Piece” is feminist because it addresses the serious issues of sexual aggression, gender subordination, violation of a woman’s personal space, and violence against women. You can see that most women respectfully cut small pieces of her clothing. At the end, there were males aggressively chopping off her bra straps. This shows no boundaries and aggression. 

At first, there was hesitation, however, it escalated quickly as people soon started cutting off large parts of the dress.

Ono thought that this was an act of giving herself freely to the audience and trusting them fully. She wanted to create art without ego. Even though she set no boundaries, it is inevitable to question what the people that cut her bra straps or large parts of her dress were thinking. 

What did I feel watching this piece: I was not aware of this performance till today. I started watching some YouTube videos first before looking into more analysis. I went into this expecting shy people walking on stage and cutting small pieces of her clothes. At first, that is what I witnessed. 

However, as more time gradually passed, people started getting more and more aggressive. 

I started feeling very uncomfortable and disturbed. She was sat in a position that evokes a sense of vulnerability. I felt sorry for Ono and her facial expressions really speak volumes. 

Some may argue that she put herself in this position. She set no boundaries and allowed the audience to act as they wish. However, it is down to the individual to set some boundaries. I always put myself in the position of the audience. If I was called up on stage to cut a piece, I would have never aimed for a large piece, a strap piece or something that would reveal a lot. 

References:

MoMa (n.d) Cut Piece. Available at: https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/yoko-ono-cut-piece-1964/ (Accessed: 14/04/21)