Yoko Ono’s “Mend Piece” on exhibit at Springfield Art Museum

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Springfield residents have the chance to see the work of a world-famous artist here in town. “Mend Piece” by Yoko Ono is on exhibit at the Springfield Art Museum.

“So this is Yoko Ono’s “Mend Piece”, which is a participatory exhibition where Yoko has asked us to mend broken cups, and the sort of the statement is “meant with care and you will mend the world at the same time,” said Sarah Buhr, Curator of Art at the Springfield Art Museum. “So it’s an idea about communal mending as an act of healing.”

The interactive exhibit came to the Springfield Art Museum through the American Federation of Arts, which is touring the exhibit around the country. According to Buhr, the Springfield Art Museum is the only accredited museum in Southwest Missouri.

“Well, I think it’s really exciting,” said Buhr. “It shows what the Springfield Art Museum can do.”

Most people may recognize Yoko Ono as the wife of Beatles legend John Lennon. Born in 1933 in Japan, Ono has been at the forefront of emerging artists since the 1960s.

“So she’s an incredible artist, intimately involved with the Fluxus movement, an art movement that developed in the 60s,” said Buhr. “It’s all about sort of a loose group of artists that is all about chance and collaboration and democratizing the idea of art-making so that they were doing things like the happenings where people would show up and play music and sing and dance.”

Buhr said there has already been a big turnout from the community to the see the exhibit.

“We’ve seen everybody,” said Buhr. “We’ve seen families with kids, we’ve seen groups of adults, we’ve seen college kids. I think the thing that’s been most exciting for us is groups of people coming in sitting down, chatting, talking about whatever they want to talk about while making.”

“Mend Piece” is on exhibit at the Springfield Art Museum until July 10th. The museum is free to the public, it’s open Tuesday through Saturday. Learn more here.

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