Sky Piece to Jesus Christ 1965

Sky Piece to Jesus Christ, performed by Yoko Ono and others, Carnegie Recital Hall, New York, 1965 Photo by Peter Moore © Barbara Moore/Licensed by VAGA, NY

In Ono’s performance Sky Piece to Jesus Christ, members of an orchestra are wrapped in gauze bandages during a concert and thus forced to stop playing their instruments. The title is not a reference to Christian subjects but to John Cage, who had earned such a cult status in avant-garde music circles that he was celebrated “like Jesus.” In Ono’s eyes, the sky represents the epitome of freedom in contrast to the inner and outer bonds visualized in the performance. During the first performance of the piece in 1965.