2016 | Working with Yoko Ono. Magical.
Article by Robert W. Karr, Jr. | Published in Japan Airlines’ SKY Magazine | November 2016
Read also 2013-2019 | Evolution of SKYLANDING by Yoko Ono
This fall, international artist and peace activist Yoko Ono unveiled her first permanent installation in the Americas, located in the Garden of the Phoenix on the Wooded Island in historic Jackson Park on Chicago’s South Side.
Entitled SKYLANDING, Yoko’s lotus sculpture and landscape rise from the ashes of the Phoenix Pavilion, which was a gift from Japan to the people of Chicago following the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and tragically lost to arson in 1946.
Situated at the north end of the 15-acre Wooded Island, the centerpiece of Jackson Park, SKYLANDING harnesses the power of the site to become a place for congregation and contemplation. A place for one’s mind, body and spirt to be free and for all to “come together” to envision our greatest hopes, dreams, and aspirations for humanity.
SKYLANDING stems from Yoko’s experiences and lifelong mission for world peace. For Yoko and for all of us, it is an awaking into a new world – a world of peace among people of all nations.
“SKYLANDING is place where the sky and earth meet and create a seed to learn about the past and come together to create a future of peace and harmony, with nature and each other," explains Yoko Ono about the ideas behind her work.
I first met Yoko in 2013, when she visited the Garden of the Phoenix to learn more about its extraordinary 120-year history. We talked about how the garden’s story uniquely reflects the highs and lows of the U.S.-Japan relationship, and teaches us not only about each other, but ourselves.
As we strolled the garden, Yoko reflected on her childhood in Japan and the United States both during and after World War II. She appreciated the vision of those in Japan who created the pavilion, as well as the people of Chicago who have cared for the site and maintained it for generations as a place to learn about Japan and experience Japanese culture. Inspired by our discussion of the past, we soon turned to the question of what does the future bring to this important, but overlooked site?
Soon after her visit, Yoko began to image the sky landing to cool the earth where the Phoenix Pavilion once stood, and make it well again for a lotus of hope to emerge and usher in a new era of peace. Once the vision was complete, Yoko held a “Ground Healing” ceremony on the site to prepare it for the 12-petal lotus. To commemorate the ground healing, which took place on June 12, 2015, Yoko created a 13th lotus petal entitled MENDED PETAL that is symbolically repaired in the Japanese tradition of kintsugi. MENDED PETAL is now on display at the Art Institute of Chicago where the last remains of the Phoenix Pavilion are also located.
The composition of SKYLANDING is a spatial experience that emerges from the past to form a new universal order. It radiates out from the center in four directions and appears strong, elegant, and approachable. With no extraneous detail, it is honest and true to itself. Layers of visual dynamism show space expanding to create an alignment of visualize form, space, and light.
As you walk through the petals, there is a tension between imperfect form and diversity of form, and the layout heightens the experience and balance of the piece. The two landforms placed at the north and south flow through the lotus and take the shape of yin-yang, or two primal opposing but complimentary forces found in all things in the universe.
While there is extraordinary meaning that one could layer on this transformed space, SKYLANDING emerges for one to experience and discover for oneself. As a native Chicagoan who has spent years living in Japan and years working on the Garden of the Phoenix, I am thrilled to invite visitors from around the world to take part in the site’s reawakening.
2016 | Yoko Ono and Robert W. Karr, Jr. at SKYLANDING preparing for the dedication on October 17, 2016.
