On Friday afternoon, Yoko drew The Blue Room Event on the gallery walls, floor, ceiling - and even a window on the stairwell - while a delegation of local press watched, photographed and videotaped. Climbing a ladder to write "This is the floor" on the ceiling, the scene evoked the famous story of John Lennon climbing the ladder at Indica Gallery 30 years ago to read the word "yes" with a magnifying glass.
After completing The Blue Room, she started her Cleaning Piece, a new work which consists of a pile of stones (river rocks) in the center gallery, a large white canvas on one end wall, a large black one on the opposite wall, and an instruction on the wall in the center. Gallery-goers are invited to attach sorrows to the black canvas, happinesses to the white. Various writing materials are provided for this purpose. For each entry on the canvases, happy and sad, one removes a stone from the center pile and places it on the happiness or sadness side.
By 6pm, the installation was complete, and gallery members were allowed in for a preview before the crowds arrived at 7pm. Yoko made several walk-throughs of the exhibition, greeting visitors and graciously signing autographs. When the 6 0'clock news ran videotape of Cleaning Piece and a brief interview with Yoko, the crowds swelled to the point that many visitors were heard asking if Yoko was really there and if they thought they'd get to see her - as she walked right past them unnoticed!
The soundtrack of Fly played loudly in the galleries on a continuous basis, but was soon overwhelmed by the buzz of the crowds. Upstairs, the adventurous could find a peephole in a closet by the restrooms through which could be seen a videotape version of the film Fly. Those wandering through to avail themselves of the facilites were treated to the sight of a parade of 'bottoms' (belonging to fellow gallery-goers) as the curious bent over to have a look! (All were properly attired, as far as I could tell.)
Weight Object # 1 (1990) and Play It By Trust - the spectacular 20-player white chess table both looked fabulous in their white galleries, bathed in brilliant light. As Ono curator, Jon Hendricks, said, Play It by Trust "really sings."
On Saturday night, Yoko surprised the audience gathered for night one of a two day Yoko Ono Film Festival by speaking for about 45 minutes before the screening and answering questions. On Sunday, news of Saturday's surprise appearance, prompted several autograph seekers to arrive quite early in the hopes that she might show again - and they would have front row seats. They did; she did not.
The Anderson Gallery exhibition is one of four concurrent shows. Upstairs, fellow Fluxus artist Davi Det Hompson and Cliff Baldwin had two galleries with identical installations! Baldwin and Hompson's installation also featured prominent use of words. This show, however, marked a new turning point in their work by forsaking recognizable words and using nonsense words instead. If FLY (as seen on Yoko's billboards, banner, posters, T-shirts and 'boxed' catalogue) left the viewer to determine if it was an instruction to take flight, an insect, or a compliment (Fly girl!), then Baldwin and Hompson leave the viewer with no discernable 'meaning' other than the the relationship of the 'word's sounds to the objects to which they were attached.
In a rear gallery upstairs, an anti-smoking exhibition "once a pack, now a coffin/carton," featured student works (the size of either a pack or carton of cigarettes) with anti-smoking themes. (Yoko took cigarette breaks in the downstairs offices.)
Downstairs, Sue Johnson's installation featured (literally) fantastic drawings of animals and insects. They have a 'scientific' look to them, but closer scrutiny reveals something half science, half fantasy. Many on opening night took awhile to realize that these were not the FLIES of Yoko's title!
The posters, a bargain at only $5 (plus shipping), look great. The word FLY sits center in black ink on a white poster. Signed posters and boxes are also available from the shop.
If you find yourself in Richmond before December 23 , you won't want to miss it. Otherwise, don't miss the great collectables, all available mail order.