A Beautiful Mind: The Redemption of Yoko Ono, the Artist

Yoko Ono is 93 years old, but for many, her image is stuck in a timewarp. Her proximity to the Beatles in their late 60’s heyday has overshadowed her work as a thinker and creator for decades and for some fans, it’s even negated it. Indeed, her relationship with John Lennon made her one of the most polarizing figures in pop culture to this day. 

But her role as an artist, honed for over six years prior to even meeting the musician, was striking, eclectic and undeniably impactful on the New York art scene. Ironically, it’s what attracted John in the first place– her dark, wild mane, boho style and makeup-free beauty was captivating, but it was her unbridled mind that made her special. 

Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind at the Broad Museum, the artist’s first solo museum exhibition in Southern California, seeks to redefine her legacy for the casual observer and serious fans alike. 

Devoting multiple rooms to Ono’s career and life, from her early conceptual ideas in Japanese academia circles to her experiential pieces in Manhattan galleries and experimental spaces, this chronological, multi-room walk-through explores a lot, and the Beatles are the least of it. Her activist works with her husband are, of course, featured. But before we get there, it’s all about the depth of ideas and the audacious ways that she executed them in the name of artistic expression. 

What would Ono’s significance as an artist and activist be today if she had not found her soul mate in the prolific music icon? Moveover, what would her legacy be if she had not been continually blamed for “breaking up the Beatles?”

From her early intention-driven concepts to lauded video and sound explorations and later-era interactive works, the show serves to bring retrospective –and feminist– dimension to a misunderstood figure who’s had a lot to say about life, before and after, with and without her husband.

The oversimplified view of Ono as a group-wrecking opportunist is obviously seeped in misogyny and maybe racism as well. It diminishes her accomplishments and her ideas. This show provides a compelling, much-needed counter-narrative.    

The best parts of the exhibit, in collaboration with Tate Modern, London, invite visitors to participate in holistic and mindful ways, from “Wish Trees” on the Broad’s outdoor East West Bank Plaza to playing chess on all-white gaming tables (“Play It By Trust”) which eliminates colored pieces to make it impossible for players keep track of “which side they’re on,” a conceptual statement against war that’s both practical and powerful. 

There’s also “Painting to Hammer a Nail in,” which empowers others to channel their emotions into her art, and “Put Your Shadows Together Until They Become One,” which asks visitors to trace their shadows on a whiteboard and observe how they meld to make one piece (the message is obvious). 

Themes of unity are a big part of the exhibit overall. “Helmets (Piece of Sky)” features WW2 headgear hanging from the ceiling. They’re filled with jigsaw pieces that form an image of the sky. “Take a piece of sky. Know that we are all part of each other,” it directs. I grabbed a few –printed with the words “Los Angeles 2026”– as a souvenir.   

The color blue is clearly symbolic for Ono, representing humanity and uplifting energy. Blue markers are provided inside an all-white room where guests can draw or write words with whatever statements they want to make near the end of the exhibition.  

While some of the pieces are a bit on the nose and obvious, presented all together, the collection is provocative and immersive, accomplishing the goal of bringing the viewer in and inspiring thought. A lot of it offers hope for a world that needs it now more than ever, especially the images of peace.

At the VIP preview bash last week, there was also a nod to Ono’s music, which is arguably her most controversial output of all.  A stage was set up at the entryway to the exhibit, where Yuka Honda (co-founder of Cibo Matto) served as musical director. Honda played electric piano and sung new ethereal-feeling arrangements of Ono tracks with guest vocals by New York-bred, Los Angeles-based duo Lucius and Emi Helfrich (Ono’s grandchild via her once long-lost daughter Kyoko Ono Cox, whom she reunited with in the 90’s). They were accompanied by Maggie Parkins on cello and Max Jaffe on drums.

Ono’s music might be respected today, especially by punks and experimentalists, but her contribution to Lennon’s music is still hotly debated. The couple’s appearance on the Dick Cavett show, when a jam with Chuck Berry turned into a freaky shrieky free-for-all thanks to Yoko, remains a most memorable sit-in– and not in a good way. 

As a Stones fan, I think that her raucous screeches as seen in The Rolling Stones’ Rock & Roll Circus during the iconic Dirty Mac set actually worked, especially on the layered instrumental jam called “Whole Lotta Yoko” which featured violinist Ivry Gitlis along with Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Mitch Mitchell of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Regardless, she’s released 14 solo studio albums and eight collaborative albums with Lennon (including their Grammy Award-winning album, Double Fantasy, in 1980), which is nothing to slouch at.  

More live music is planned in conjunction with the Broad exhibit, including a celebration of her music, called “Yoko Only” (featuring Yo La Tengo, Nels Cline, Yuka Honda, Sleater-Kinney, Rufus Wainwright, and more) in August. Whether you fancy Ono’s music or not, one thing is for sure, it’s never boring and always boundary-pushing. And it’s just one component of her boldly contemplative and frequently beautiful schemes and scenes, which, like everything she does, are all about opening minds. Bring yours to enjoy this retrospective as fully intended.   

YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND – May 23–October 11, 2026
At The Broad 221 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles