From applying and getting hired to working on 12-plus-hour flights, many elements of a flight attendant's and pilot's jobs are elusive.
31.07.2023 - 12:41 / forbes.com / Yoko Ono / Art
A lot of dishes were shattered during the pandemic. Although some breakage was accidental, incidental or ad hoc, the greatest damage was done in smash rooms, padded cells where people paid good money to sledgehammer remaindered crockery by the hour. Smash rooms were advertised as safe spaces to release Covid-induced anger and frustration. Many therapists questioned the effectiveness. One psychologist compared it to treating a gambling addiction by sending patients to Harrah’s.
Even as the coronavirus has been brought under control, people's rage has not abated, finding ever greater provocation in partisan politics, global conflict, and the catastrophic effects of anthropogenic climate change. This month, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art offers a constructive alternative to the smash room. First conceived by the Fluxus artist Yoko Ono in 1966, Mend Piece invites people to sit around a table repairing broken crockery with twine and tape and glue.
Mend Piece is guided by a set of deceptively simple instructions: “Mend with wisdom, mend with love. It will mend the earth at the same time.” No further explanation is given. The only source of guidance is conversation with other people in the room and efforts by recent visitors collected on a shelf. As might be expected, given the materials offered by Ono, the results are beguilingly eclectic and completely inadequate from a practical standpoint.
This purposeless purposefulness – to use a definition of art once proposed by Ono’s Fluxus colleague John Cage – is an attribute of many works by Ono, especially the instructional scores that made her reputation. For instance, City Piece, conceived in 1961, instructs readers to “walk all over the city with an empty baby carriage”. And Map Piece, conceived in 1964, directs people to “draw a map to get lost”.
Ono sometimes performed these works herself. One of the first (and still the most famous) situated Ono on stage in a theater, wearing her finest clothes, a pair of scissors set beside her. “Members of the audience may come on stage – one at a time – to cut a small piece of the performer’s clothing to take with them,” read the instructions. “Performer remains motionless throughout the piece.”
First performed in 1964, Cut Piece enlarged upon Ono’s earlier works by introducing a social dynamic. Ono once described it as a form of “giving and taking” but it’s at least as much about exposure: the exposure of the artist to the whim of the audience and the exposure of the audience in terms of how people respond to her invitation. The latter turns out to be more revealing. The most Ono exposes is her body. Depending on what they do with the scissors, those who interact with her reveal their inner desires.
Mend Piece
From applying and getting hired to working on 12-plus-hour flights, many elements of a flight attendant's and pilot's jobs are elusive.
Demand for travel is high and rates are even higher – an average of $1,600 per night for hotel bookings during 2023/24 festive season. Happy (but stressed) travel advisors and suppliers are delighted to see you swarming back, often in record numbers. The only challenge is meeting your expectations, something that has never been more difficult. Fifty-seven percent of you say, “Creating a travel experience that best fits my expectations is more important than price.” Making sure you have a bon voyage these days takes more time and creativity, even if it’s often hidden behind those smiles. Welcome to the post-Covid travel industry.
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Discover all the charm of Rome in February, and we will tell you about the nuances of the weather in Rome in February. Experience the city's timeless elegance, embellished with winter touches. From the grandeur of the Colosseum to the charm of Trastevere, take advantage of the February climate for an unforgettable journey through Rome.
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