A Conversation about YOKO ONO’s Mend Piece

In this video, filmed via Zoom in October 2022, the Neuberger Museum’s Diana Puglisi speaks with Midori Yoshimoto, an expert on Japanese women artists, about Yoko Ono’s Mend Piece and how the work has evolved since its debut in 1966. 

Listen in as Yoshimoto describes the journey from Ono’s first installation in the basement of a book shop in London to the current iteration of Mond Piece, set in a seemingly simple white room where shattered cups and saucers are placed on a table. In this space, participants are asked to bind the fragments together using common household items: twine, glue, scissors, and tape. The resulting creations are displayed on nearby shelves, evidence of the power of collective action.

Secluded from the bustling world, Ono’s meditative environment inspires reflections on the tumultuous concerns of society, as well as personal struggles. In her work, the artist proposes communal mending as an act of healing.

This event is part of the Daniel P. Paduano and Janet W. Prindle Lecture Series

Midori Yoshimoto is a professor of art history and gallery director at New Jersey City University. Yoshimoto specializes in post-1945 Japanese art and its diaspora with a focus on women artists, Fluxus, and intermedia. Her 2005 book, Into Performance: Japanese Women Artists in New York, led to numerous publications including an essay in Yoko Ono One Woman Show (Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2015).

Midori Yoshimoto
Professor of Art History and Gallery Director at New Jersey City University

Diana Puglisi
Curator of Education, Youth and Adult Programs
Neuberger Museum of Art