THE BINARY GAME: EMANCIPATORY ACTION IN THE PERFORMANCES OF YOKO ONO AND TAKAKO SAITO

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Files

Rasmussen_umd_0117N_21729.pdf (698.68 KB)
(RESTRICTED ACCESS)
No. of downloads:

Publication or External Link

Date

2021

Citation

Abstract

This thesis explores the ways in which the artists Yoko Ono and Takako Saito used intermedia art to communicate a vision of racial and gender equity. My study will draw from archival materials and personal correspondence, and will focus on three main works: Yoko Ono’s Morning Piece (1964/1965), Takako Saito’s Flux Chess series (c. 1965), and Yoko Ono’s White Chess Set (1966). I argue that Ono and Saito associate gender with ideologies of peace and care characterize the phenomenology of their performances, imbuing feminist ethics into the very structure of the performance itself. I argue that Ono and Saito reinterpret gendered power dynamics to create new forms of social relationship centered around feminist values.

Notes

Rights