Get ready to be shocked all over again! Yoko Ono's 1964 game-changer 'Cut Piece' is back on stage this week, and we're itching to see if it can still pack a punch in 2026. The groundbreaking performance art piece, which saw the artist sitting passively as strangers cut away her clothes, will be reimagined live by artist MPA at The Broad museum in Los Angeles on July 17-18. This bold restaging aims to confront the unpredictable nature of the piece head-on.
Fast-forward to Carnegie Hall in '64, where Ono, then just 31, dared to bare all – quite literally – as strangers snipped away at her clothes with scissors. The original performance still sears itself into our collective consciousness, a potent symbol of the Fluxus art movement's fearless spirit. As Sarah Loyer, curator and exhibitions manager at The Broad, notes, 'Cut Piece' is an exercise in vulnerability, leaving Ono's body completely exposed to the whims of its audience. No wonder she described it as "a frightening piece to perform!"
Artist MPA, tasked with breathing new life into this iconic work, confesses to a mix of pride and trepidation. Known for her own boundary-pushing pieces that often explore the human form, MPA wondered if 'Cut Piece' could still retain its "sting" or would it simply become a historic re-enactment? She questioned whether audiences today could still be provoked into responding with the same raw emotion.
For those close to Ono, the piece is far from static. As director Connor Monahan explains, each presentation of 'Cut Piece' should be viewed as a fresh performance, not just a rehashing of history. The work's meaning, he argues, is shaped by its context – audience, time, and place – and can never be replicated exactly. Ono herself didn't intend the piece to have a fixed outcome; instead, it was meant to reflect the unique choices, hesitations, and responses of its participants.
MPA's research revealed an intriguing evolution in Ono's relationship with 'Cut Piece'. Her initial performances conveyed a palpable sense of anger and vulnerability – but as she performed it six times between 1964 and 2003, her attitude shifted. Ahead of her final performance in 2003, Ono stated that while her initial impulse was driven by "anger and turbulence," she now approached it with love for herself, the audience, and the world. This transformation highlights the dynamic nature of 'Cut Piece' and its potential for varied interpretation.