Nepedia
Back to Discover
Fluent Reader
🎨

Yoko Ono

arts Maturity 11-13 war conflict Next article →

This article covers sensitive topics: war_conflict. Parents can manage visibility in Parental Controls.

Yoko Ono is a creative person from Japan.

Mikhail Tarasov %26 Yoko Ono
Mikhail Tarasov %26 Yoko Ono

She works as an artist, a musician, and a filmmaker. Her work includes performance art, which is art that people do in front of an audience. She also makes conceptual art. One example is her piece called "Painting to Be Stepped On." This was a piece of canvas on the floor. It became a finished work of art as people left footprints on it. She wanted to show that art does not always have to stay on a wall.

Yoko Ono Wish Tree B
Yoko Ono Wish Tree B

Ono's life has been full of many different experiences. She was born in Tokyo on February 18, 1933. Her name means "ocean child" in Japanese. She grew up in Tokyo during World War II. During the fire-bombing in 1945, her family stayed in a special bunker. She has said that this difficult time helped her develop an "aggressive" attitude. Later, she moved to New York City in 1952. She studied poetry, literature, and music composition at Sarah Lawrence College.

Yoko Ono 4 - Echo of Moscow
Yoko Ono 4 - Echo of Moscow

In the early 1960s, Ono became part of a group of artists called Fluxus.

This group was made of many avant-garde artists. An avant-garde artist is someone who tries new and unusual ideas. She lived and worked in a loft at 112 Chambers Street in Manhattan. She also met the famous composer John Cage. In 1965, she performed a piece called "Cut Piece" at Carnegie Recital Hall. She was also the only woman artist chosen to perform at a symposium in London in 1966.

Yoko Ono Wish Tree B
Yoko Ono Wish Tree B

Ono became very famous to the whole world in 1969. That was the year she married the musician John Lennon.

They formed a musical group called the Plastic Ono Band. The couple used their honeymoon to protest the Vietnam War. They called these events "bed-ins." In 1980, they released a very successful album called "Double Fantasy." This album won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Lennons by Jack Mitchell
Lennons by Jack Mitchell

Sadly, John Lennon was murdered in front of their home, The Dakota, on December 8, 1980.

Today, Yoko Ono continues to do important work. She works to protect the memory of John Lennon. She helped pay for the Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park. She also helped create the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland.

Imagine Peace Billboard Fort Myers FL Photo by Dawn Iraci
Imagine Peace Billboard Fort Myers FL Photo by Dawn Iraci

She gives money to help with peace and disaster relief. In 2002, she started the LennonOno Grant for Peace. She also helped start a group called Artists Against Fracking. Her music has also been very popular on the dance charts. In 2016, she was named one of the most successful dance club artists of all time.

432 words

Where will your curiosity go next?

Keep exploring at your chosen reading level.

🖼️ Images & Media (18)
File:112 Chambers St jeh.jpg
112 Chambers St jeh.jpg
File:John Lennon en echtgenote Yoko Ono vertrekken van Schiphol naar Wenen in de vert, Bestanddeelnr 922-2496 cropped.jpg
John Lennon en echtgenote Yoko Ono...
File:John Lennon en zijn echtgenote Yoko Ono op huwelijksreis in Amsterdam hielden pe, Bestanddeelnr 922-2301.jpg
John Lennon en zijn echtgenote Yoko Ono...
File:John Lennon performing Give Peace a Chance 1969.jpg
John Lennon performing Give Peace a...
File:Yokoono and johnlennon pelo1972.jpg
Yokoono and johnlennon pelo1972.jpg
File:1 West 72nd Street (The Dakota) by David Shankbone.jpg
1 West 72nd Street (The Dakota) by David...
File:Lennons by Jack Mitchell.jpg
Lennons by Jack Mitchell.jpg
File:Mikhail_Tarasov_%26_Yoko_Ono.jpg
Mikhail_Tarasov_%26_Yoko_Ono.jpg
File:Yoko Ono 4 - Echo of Moscow.jpg
Yoko Ono 4 - Echo of Moscow.jpg
File:Gala 2008 290.jpg
Gala 2008 290.jpg
File:Yoko Ono at the 70th Annual Peabody Awards.jpg
Yoko Ono at the 70th Annual Peabody Awards.jpg
File:Airwaves2011 Yoko Ono POB - 6243454006.jpg
Airwaves2011 Yoko Ono POB - 6243454006.jpg

+ 6 more

More to explore

✨ What else?

Related topics you might enjoy

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.