Ok, this was a very important bk to me. In 1975 when I read this, I wd've just recently heard Ono's "Fly" LP wch I also loved enormously so when I read this it had plenty of impact. I was probably just learning about Fluxus in general at the time. This is "A book of instructions drawings by Yoko Ono" & it exemplifies Fluxus short performance index card scores - such as the ones also explored by George Brecht. I have "LIGHT PIECE" circled in pencil:

"Carry an empty bag.
Go to the top of a hill.
Pour all the light you can in it.
Go home when it is dark.
Hang the bag in the middle of your
room in place of a light bulb."

Love it. Imagining doing that seems fun even now 32 yrs later so this definitely endures the test of time for me. Then there's "PAINTING TO BE STEPPED ON":

"Leave a piece of canvas or finished
painting on the floor or in the street."

Now, many yrs later, she had a piece like this in a museum or a gallery & somebody walked on it & he was arrested & charged. Ono's comment was something to the effect that 'there are many ways to walk on something' as her way of saying that the guy was an asshole. I'm on his side. But, what the fuck, I give Ono slack - her husband was killed by an asshole or a Manchurian Candidate or whatever. Then there's a piece called "LINE PIECE III", another piece I have circled:

"Draw a line with yourself.
Go on drawing until you disappear."

A friend has told me that that's actually a well-known LaMonte Young piece but I suspect that Young might've done a similar thing that wasn't exactly the same or that there was enuf Fluxus cross-fertilization for pieces to have ambiguous authorship. Dunno. Anyway, this bk has a way of thinking that's completely out-of-the-box & I admire it for that. It's chock-full of ideas & she deserves to be considered a great artist even if she is from a rich banking family & has probably never had to work a day in her life. Privileged scum. ( )

I can't believe these reviews! To people who hated it and who hate Yoko Ono: wtf have you ever done that made me feel good about life? Have you ever slowed down time through the economy of words? Have you ever made me wonder? Yoko Ono likes simple words everyone can understand arranged in small, beautiful koans! Little bouquets of language! Just like flowers! You have to stop and smell them!!! What's not to understand/like? I love this!! GTFO! ( )

I carried this book around for about a year when I first got it. I was maybe 14 years old. No one I knew understood why. But it made more sense to me than the world around me did. It still does. ( )

One doesn't have to be a fast reader; it has taken me fifty years to catch up with this book. To be fair to myself, the initial print run was pretty exclusive, but subsequent printings have been available for several years (decades, actually!)

It is probably a good job that I did not get around to reading this tome until I had matured and gained, at least some degree of, patience. The first couple of pieces that I read seemed plain daft and I was on the verge of dismissing the work but, fortunately, persevered. These snippets/poems, call them what you will, are so 'off the wall', that one needs to attune one's senses to them. After a run at the book, the individual works start to shine with humour and wisdom. I will not pretend that I found every page to contain a gem, but as any prospector will tell you, one has to sift a whole pile of muck to find a nugget of gold. This book is infinitely more rewarding.

I have already mentioned the length of time since this book was written, and so, it was a pleasant surprise to find that it had aged so little: I suppose that the truth is constant... Having attained the correct mindset for this book, I shall be dipping into it on an ad hoc basis.

If you have not got a copy or, as I nearly was, you were put off by your initial reaction to 'grapefruit', I strongly suggest that you give it (another) go..... ( )

yoko's weird look at life ( )