Did you know that “Yoko Ono” translates into “ocean child?” I thought it is fitting for her to have such a name. She is a very artistic person who, at her own pace and style of flow, always defies the norms. Yoko Ono was already known for her abstract art pieces, which usually required the participation of her audience, before she met and married the famous, late John Lennon. Their very controversial marriage had people across the globe accusing her of being the catalyst for the Beatles’ break-up. Despite all the controversy, she remains to be a very active artist up to this day.

Ono grew up with her mother in Japan until about the age of 18, during which her family was reunited and settled in New York. She attended the Sarah Lawrence College in New York but dropped out to elope with her first husband, Toshi Ichiyanagi. She then became involved with developing conceptual art pieces through which she met her second husband Anthony Cox. They ended in a nasty divorce and her daughter, Kyoko, was “kidnapped” by Cox during one of his weekend custody visit. Ono’s abstract art pieces were then taken to interest in the United Kingdom which precipitated her visit to England in 1967. There, she met her third husband, John Lennon. Together, they began to explore and publicize art in the form of film in which they were featured (in nudity).

Aside from “The Ballad of John and Yoko,” (1968) one of the most famous musical pieces that she is associated with is actually not that of her own; most of the credit is given to her third husband, John Lennon. This song is entitled, “Imagine” (1971)—a song written to for the promotion of peace. It is a song that has been covered by hundreds of famous artists and undiscovered musicians all over the world and has recently been featured on the hit, FOX television series, Glee, just last week (November 25^th). The song symbolizes an imagined place of peace which the Lennon’s eventually referred to as Nutopia on the April Fool’s day of 1973. The song was said to have been partially inspired by Ono’s poetry in reaction to her life in Japan during World War II and her book entitled Grapefruit. She went on and continued to explore music until the death of her husband.

When John Lennon was shot in 1980, Yoko Ono’s “work” began to appeal to the public in positive lighting. She notes that her art pieces weren’t as popular as they could’ve been because she was a woman, she was of Asian decent and was often despised for “breaking up the Beatles.” However, especially in recent days, she is seen as a woman who continues to lead a life dedicated to peace and unity. While protecting and promoting the legacy of peace that John had left the world, she is seen as one of the most renowned contemporary, Japanese-American artists to ever live. At 70, she is said to be happy with her achieved inner piece.

http://www.yoko-ono.com/bio.htm

http://imaginepeace.com/news/

http://www.time.com/time/asia/2003/heroes/yoko_ono.html