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Art Quotes by Yoko Ono

47 Art quotes by Yoko Ono

All Art quotes Yoko Ono’s page

Yoko Ono recalls that her first art piece was cutting a pear seed and an apple seed in half when she was four. She likens artists to trees in a park that give shade to everyone, even if many people feel blocked from creating. She also sees performance art as a short, casual line that can replace longer shows.

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I thought art was a verb, rather than a noun.

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Art is my life and my life is art.

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Art for me is like breathing.

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It's a waste to not say anything with art.

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Art is a way of survival.

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Art is like breathing for me. If I don't do it, I start to choke.

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I don't particularly consider myself just an artist. I'm a woman - I'm a human being.

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Women artists are still treated differently from men.

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Artists are magicians and I definitely think John Lennon was a Wizard.

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Art for me is like breathing. When I stop breathing, what happens?

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Controversy is part of the nature of art and creativity.

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The art world was not initially really accepting my kind of work. I was ahead of my time.

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But only art and music have the power to bring peace.

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Great Art is Great because it inspired you greatly. If it didn't, no matter what the critics, the museums and the galleries…

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I see so many activists... who are artists because they feel that they have the power of communication.

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Performance art is going to be the future. Plays on Broadway are so restricted. But performance art is like haikus, just one…

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People accuse artists of being narcissists - of course we are! If we don't like ourselves, who's going to like us?

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Everyone is an artist and a genius, I think. If we don't choose to limit ourselves then we are totally accomplished.

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I never thought, "I'm going to be an artist". When I actually began to become successful in the art world I made…

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I really feel that artists or musicians are controversial people. Controversy is part of the nature of art and creativity. If people…

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Art is a mind-game that we do to make our lives easier. If it isn't for that, it becomes superfluous.

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The first idea, the first art piece I ever did, was when I was four. I cut the seed of a pear…

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In the '60s, people were still very protective of each field that they belonged to. Avant-garde artists didn't know about rock or…

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There's a big difference between sending your art in a statement or something like that, and sending yourself there. When you send…

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I realized that an artist seeking to tell the truth in her art takes great courage. I recognize the courage required to…

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If I hear dance music, my body starts to move. Whatever the dance music is, I can't help it. With all that,…

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Sometimes I have compared myself with a scientist or something: when you discover something and you don't expect the whole world to…

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Everybody's an artist. Everybody's God. It's just that they're inhibited. I believe in people so much that if the whole of civilization…

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Sound as medium has an incredible elasticity. So, of course, it is tempting for artists of other fields to try something with…

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What surprises me is-even though discrimination against women and racial discrimination still exist, they have improved a lot, especially among artists. And…

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Art is an effort to make you walk a half an inch above ground.

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Everybody's an artist. Everybody's God. It's just that they're inhibited.

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Artists are going to be the metronome of this society.

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True artists are prophets. I don't want to be that prophetic in that sense because it's so lonely.

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We artists have the dignity to tell the truth to the people, unlike politicians.

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Artists and musicians of the Sixties were definitely into clothes.

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What all of us artists are doing is using our pain as material to create our work.

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Many incredible artists die before they were famous.

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I like artists who have something to say, not wallpaper.

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I never wanted to be a professional artist; I think that's limiting.

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More by Yoko Ono

Our public officials have forgotten that they are ultimately accountable to the people who put them in office, that the information they keep in…

Smile in the mirror. Do that every morning and you'll start to see a big difference in your life.

Think of the Earth as a turning point in eternity. Think of the Earth as a meeting point in infinity.

If your life changes, we can change the world, too.

When people get cynical about love, they should look at us [Yoko and John Lennon] and see it is possible

True artists are prophets. I don't want to be that prophetic in that sense because it's so lonely.

The first idea, the first art piece I ever did, was when I was four. I cut the seed of a pear in half…

John wrote with a very deep love for the human race and a concern for its future.

I always believed that my work should be unfinished in the sense that I encourage people to add their creativity to it, either conceptually…

Losing my daughter was a very serious pain. There was always some empty space in my heart.

People don't remember each tree in a park but all of us benefit from the trees. And in a way, artists are like trees…

Marriage is a gamble, let's be honest.

It's difficult to explain love. You want to explain water? You need a book for it. There are many different ways to explain what…

Being alone is very difficult.

Many people do remember their births, but they deny it.