Faithful Nest

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Chicago is currently exhibiting Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind. You have until February 22 to experience this display of her work. After allowing the social media antagonists to nearly derail my own peace, this exhibit reminded me of my own capability to foster peace.

Truly focusing on Ono and her development, the MCA introduces the exhibit as a “remarkable retrospective celebrat[ing] key moments of Ono’s career, showcasing art driven by ideas and expressed in poetic, humorous, and profound ways.” That is a lot of words to say it is roughly chronographic and profoundly Yoko Ono.

After reading Yoko Ono: An Artful Life by Donald Brackett I felt far more familiar with John Lennon and his life than Yoko. That biography was more of an exercise to relieve the world of the notion that she split up the Beatles. She didn’t. The book also comes off as a closet biography of John Lennon. I’m not here to make war, I’m here to talk about peace. So let’s move on.

Her early years seemed to be more about self discovery. About half way through the exhibit I found a revelation about her logic in creating. Which really wasn’t about her own creation, but in helping others think more creatively.

As a child, her family fled to the mountains during the war. They faced hunger and isolation. She tells of spending time with her brother, laying in a field watching the clouds and – of course – imagining what was represented in the clouds. That is her wish for people. To release their preconceived notions and let their imagination loose.

If you haven’t seen a copy of her book, Grapefruit, it is worth a look. Like the all-white chess boards (pieces and boards), the meaning is up to you. For me, the chess boards represented the idea that we are really all people, all the same, all looking to exist. So why are we fighting each other?

There is a musical section displaying her albums and playing the music. This was quite a revelation for me. I’d heard stories about her early work and unique style. The exhibit revealed the variety of work in her repertoir. The feminist songs were both invigorating and musical. Of course, as I left, my head echoed with “Give Peace a Chance.” Much needed calm and counter thinking outlook.

As you leave, you pick up a piece of the sky. Cut into jigsaw puzzle pieces, the gift harkens back to her time with her brother. “Even when everything was falling apart around me, the sky was always there for me… I can never give up on life as long as the sky is there.”

Let’s not give up on peace. The sky is still here.