YOKO ONO, CUT PIECE, 1964

Performed on March 21, 1965 at Carnegie Recital Hall, New York

“People went on cutting the parts they do not like of me finally there was only the stone remained of me that was in me but they were still not satisfied and wanted to know what it’s like in the stone.” —Yoko Ono

“Ono gave her first performance of Cut Piece (1964) in Kyotoin July 1964. She sat motionless on stage in a traditional Japanese feminine position, and invited members of the audience to cut a piece of her clothing away. Through this action Ono offered an intimate encounter with herself, where the audience was able to experience the sensations of anguish and pain that silently emanated from the action of cutting her clothes. Ono commented that she wanted her participants "to start to see things beyond the shapes ... [to] hear the kind of sounds that you hear in silence ... to feel the environment and tension in people's vibrations ... the sound of fear and of darkness." With this performance, she wanted to reveal the violence which, though often silent and subtle, pervades the society we live in.” - Guggenheim