''Ceiling Painting/Yes Painting'' is a 1966 conceptual artwork by the Japanese artist

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

Work

The work is made from paper, glass, a metal frame, a metal chain, a magnifying glass, and a painted ladder. The word YES is printed on the piece of paper. The work is interactive, with the viewer (or participant) expected to climb the ladder and use a magnifying glass to look at the word "YES" which is printed on paper beneath a sheet of glass suspended from the ceiling.

History

The work was shown at Ono's autumn 1966 show, ''Unfinished Paintings and Objects By Yoko Ono'' at the

Indica Gallery Indica Gallery was a counterculture art gallery in Mason's Yard (off Duke Street), St James's, London from 1965 to 1967, in the basement of the Indica Bookshop. John Dunbar, Peter Asher, and Barry Miles owned it, and Paul McCartney supporte ...

in London. Two different ladders were used by Ono in the New York and subsequent London showing of the piece. The piece was displayed at Ono's 2014 retrospective at the

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. The museum was inaugurated on 18 October 1997 by King Juan Carlos I of Sp ...

. The relationship of the participant to the piece has changed in subsequent decades. At a retrospective in 2000, ''Ceiling Painting/Yes Painting'' was displayed on a pedestal with physical interaction no longer possible. Interaction with Ono's ''Painting to Hammer a Nail'' was equally limited, with the piece having been displayed behind plexiglass. The preview night of Ono's INDICA exhibition on 7 November 1966 was visited by the musician

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

who had heard that "this amazing woman was going to be putting on a show...and it was going to be a bit of a happening". Lennon was initially impressed by the humour of Ono's work ''

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

'', and later said of his interaction with ''Ceiling Painting/Yes Painting'' that he had "climbed the ladder, looked through the spyglass, and in tiny little letters it said 'yes'...So it was positive. I felt relieved". Lennon's initial interaction with ''Ceiling Painting/Yes Painting'' was depicted in the Canadian playwright

Jean Yoon Jean Yoon (born May 4, 1962) is an American-born Canadian actress and writer of Korean descent. Yoon is best known for originating the role of family matriarch Umma in the 2011 play ''Kim's Convenience'' and in the award-winning CBC Television ...

's 2002 play ''The Yoko Ono Project''. The positive message of the piece attracted Lennon to Ono, the pair were subsequently introduced with neither apparently knowing much about each other's creative work. Ono recalled in a 2014 interview with art critic Jonathan Jones for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' that "The ladder John had to climb up was very high" with Jones writing that the "smallness of the yes and the difficulty of reaching it" reflected Ono's pain after the breakup of a recent relationship.

Interpretation

''Ceiling Painting/Yes Painting'' has been described by Ono as being representative of a journey towards hope and affirmation from pain. The difficulty in attaining hope and affirmation has been likened by Ono to the intimidating stature of a cathedral. The relationship between ''Ceiling Painting/Yes Painting'' and Ono's 1964 work ''Cut Piece'' was extensively critiqued by James M. Harding in his essay "Between Material and Matrix: Yoko Ono's ''Cut Piece'' and the Unmaking of Collage" in his 2012 book of essays, ''Cutting Performances: Collage Events, Feminist Artists, and the American Avant-Garde''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceiling Painting Yes Painting 1966 paintings 1966 works Conceptual art Works by Yoko Ono