Biography
Yoko Ono is an artist, musician, actor, and poet whose conceptual and performance art became hugely influential in the 1960’s. Yoko grew up mostly in Tokyo, Japan, where as a child she wrote poetry and plays, and received classical training in piano and voice. In 1952 Ono became the first woman admitted to the philosophy program at Gakushūin University in Tokyo, but, after about a year there, she joined her family in New York City. Ono became known for her conceptual art pieces, and then later for her music. She also collaborated on some artistic projects with her husband John Lennon of the Beatles. Her music career began with Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band (1970) and continues to this day. Yoko also wrote a musical, New York Rock, which was produced Off-Broadway in 1994. She received a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2009 Venice Biennale.