Grapefruit (book)

Grapefruit is an Artist's book written by Yoko Ono, originally published in 1964. It has become famous as an early example of Conceptual art, containing a series of 'event scores' that replace the physical work of art - the traditional stock-in-trade of artists - with instructions that an individual may, or may not, wish to enact.

'Grapefruit is one of the monuments of conceptual art of the early 1960s, She has a lyrical, poetic dimension that sets her apart from the other conceptual artists. Her approach to art was only made acceptable when white men like Kosuth and Wiener came in and did virtually the same thing as Yoko, but made them respectable and collectible.' David Bourdon. [David Bourdon quoted in New York Times 1989, reproduced in Yes. Yoko Ono, Harry Abrams 2000, p26]

Origins of the Event Score

Event scores were developed by a number of artists attending John Cage's Experimental Music Composition classes at the New School for Social Research in New York. Whilst Ono didn't attend these informal lessons, her husband at the time, Ichiyanagi Toshi, (an experimental musician) did, and Toshi and Ono became regulars of Cage's circle of friends by 1959. Other members of this group included David Tudor, Morton Feldman, Richard Maxfield and Merce Cunningham. Invention of the event score is usually credited to George Brecht [Quoted in George Brecht, by Yve-Alain Bois [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0268/is_8_44/ai_n18764245/pg_2] ] , but La Monte Young and Yoko Ono are also cited as amongst the first to experiment with the form. [Yes. Yoko Ono, Harry Abrams 2000, p18] Both Cage and Brecht were deeply influenced by 'Oriental thinking' [ [http://members.chello.nl/j.seegers1/flux_files/brecht.html George Brecht] ] , and Ono found that her Buddhist-inspired work was, almost accidentally, fêted by the emerging New York Counterculture as avant-garde.

'Event Scores, involve simple actions, ideas, and objects from everyday life recontexualized as performance. Event Scores are texts that can be seen as proposal pieces or instructions for actions. The idea of the score suggests musicality. Like a musical score, Event Scores can be realized by artists other than the original creator and are open to variation and interpretation.' [ [http://www.aknowles.com/eventscore.html Alison Knowles website] ]

Origins of Grapefruit

Often considered a Fluxus artwork, in fact the work was originally published by Ono's own imprint, "Wunternaum Press" in Tokyo in an edition of 500. After leaving New York in 1962-where she had exhibited at Maiunas' AG Gallery, amongst others, her then-husband Anthony Cox suggested she collect her scores together. George Maciunas, the central personality in Fluxus, had apparently been trying to reach her in Tokyo with the aim of printing a similar book in New York [Yes. Yoko Ono, Harry Abrams 2000, p82] , as part of his series of "Fluxkits" (see Water Yam), [Other artists he intended to compile included Daniel Spoerri, Allan Kaprow, Dick Higgins and La Monte Young] but his letters hadn't reached her; she sent some of the scores and a prepublication advertisement to be published in his Fluxus newspaper in February 1964 when contact was finally established.

First Edition

The name 'Grapefruit' was chosen as title because Ono believed the fruit to be a hybrid of an orange and a lemon, and thus a reflection of herself as 'a spiritual hybrid.' [Yes. Yoko Ono, Harry Abrams 2000, p82] It also seems likely that it is a playful allusion to Brecht's "Water Yam", itself a pun on Brecht and Watt's "Yam Festival", which, happening in May 1963, had been 'May' backwards.

The first edition contains over 150 'instruction works'; virtually all are in english, with about a third translated into Japanese. They are divided into five sections; "Music", "Painting", "Event", "Poetry" and "Object". The instructions are preceded by dedications to figures including John Cage, La Monte Young, Nam June Paik, Isamu Noguchi and Peggy Guggenheim, and also includes documentation relating to Ono's recent exhibitions and performances. [Yes. Yoko Ono, Harry Abrams 2000, p82] The work was originally sold for $3.00 before publication, $6.00 after.

ubsequent Editions

The second edition was published in 1970 by Simon and Schuster in New York, Peter Owen Ltd in London, and Bärmeier & Nikel in Frankfurt. As well as an introduction by John Lennon ("Hi! My name is John Lennon. I'd like you to meet Yoko Ono..." ["Grapefruit" (1970 reissue)] ), the work contained 80 more instruction pieces, and included two more sections, "Film" and "Dance". The book ends with a collection of Ono's writings including "To The Wesleyan People", 1966. [See [http://www.a-i-u.net/yokosays.html] ] There were also paperback versions printed by Sphere and Touchstone around the same time, and a reprint by Simon & Schuster in 2000. The sphere edition has a particularly memorable sleeve, conflating the title with Yoko Ono's film "Bottoms", (or no. 4), a film comprised exclusively of naked bottoms, made in 1966.

ome of the Scores

PAINTING TO EXIST ONLY WHEN IT'S COPIED OR PHOTOGRAPHED

Let people copy or photograph your paintings. Destroy the originals.

1964 Spring

PAINTING TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN YOUR HEAD

Go on transforming a square canvas

in your head until it becomes a

circle. Pick out any shape in the

process and pin up or place on the

canvas an object, a smell, a sound

or a colour that came to your mind

in association with the shape.

1962 Spring

Sogetsu [Both quoted from Grapefriut, 1964, reprinted in Yes. Yoko Ono, Harry Abrams 2000, p78 and 81]

SNOW PIECE

Think that snow is falling. Think that snow is falling

everywhere all the time. When you talk with a person, think

that snow is falling between you and on the person.

Stop conversing when you think the person is covered by snow.

1963 [ [http://www.a-i-u.net/instructions.html] ]

References

External Links

* [http://fluxusheidelbergcenter.blogspot.com/2008/09/interview-with-yoko-ono-by-michele.html Interview with Ono about Fluxus]
* [http://www.a-i-u.net/multimedia_pioneer.html Another Interview with Ono]
* [http://www.a-i-u.net/instructions.html Some Instruction Pieces]