Fuck Yeah Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono, who won fame–and infamy–when she married Beatles founder John Lennon, will turn 80 in February, and she is confronting yet another prejudice.

“I had racism, I had sexism, now it’s ageism,” Ono said during a talk Monday night in New York. The talk was distributed on the Internet through Livestream.

For example, Ono said she enjoys wearing contemporary clothes and sometimes is criticized for doing so. “The minute I’m criticized, I feel like OK, I’m going to stick to it,” she said.

Hi, Yoko! What do you have planned for Meltdown?
I’m very excited. I was in Meltdown before, invited by Patti Smith, but that’s very different from when you have to arrange things yourself. And I’m a good arranger – according to me. I would like to make it something refreshing, not about pursuing big names, more about a concept. A strong corner on women, feminism and the plight of women. I think all women are icons of feminism and we have responsibility for ourselves. But I’m happy to give one or two nights where I ask men to say something about themselves.

….

You’re 80 next year – how will you celebrate?
I’m celebrating every day, in a way. It’s not very easy to be my age, but I’m not very concerned about age. After sexism and racism, which I fought, now there’s ageism – something more to fight about. I don’t do very much exercise, but I do like to walk. Food-wise, sometimes I’m very good and sometimes I’m very naughty – chocolate is what I like. Don’t be discouraged by society saying, “Oh, you’re going to be 40; that’s too bad.” We all carry our own age. I will put my feet up when I’m in a coffin, but until then I will do my best to have a full life.

Yoko Ono has an exquisite aptitude for noticing things.

The first time I saw her was on Mercer Street one evening as the light started to lean over the city. Strolling from my office, I saw a small figure in black hat and long coat walking toward me. I didn’t realize it was her until we stood only a few strides away, but as we passed she looked up and smiled warmly right at me.

That Ono met and held my gaze was all the more unusual in Manhattan, where it’s often considered rude. But she seemed utterly calm in that moment on the sidewalk, like a silent watcher eager to grab the smallest sliver of connection with another as she passed.

The same quality is apparent in her new book, An Invisible Flower, out now by Chimera Library. Ono illustrated this elegant tome in 1952, when she was 19 years old, but this is the first time it has been published. Sean Lennon found the pages of pastel chalk drawings and hand-written text it in a closet one day at home and finally prevailed upon his mum to allow its dissemination.