Yoko Ono Zine
24 pages (including front / back covers)
digest size, all art-quality card stock
$15.00
This may be the most perfect zine I've every held.
(Admittedly I'm Biased. I am a huge Yoko Ono fan. No other artist has influenced me as much as she has.)
Inside the thick yellow envelope there is a little bundle tied up with brown twine. It's a lovely package in any context, but especially delightful to me as I am reminded of some lines from Grapefruit, (TAPE PIECE III,) about wrapping gifts.
The package contains a lovely business card, a little piece of art sealed in plastic, and the zine, wrapped in brown paper. I do not know if this package is the way LOSTBOY always sends their zine out, or if this was specifically for me because of our shared love for Yoko. So, I'll just concentrate on the zine itself.
The entire inside 20 pages is card stock, off white. The cover is heavier card stock, brown. The front cover has a circle cut out. The art on the first page combines with the art on the front cover to make the cover people see when they first look at it. The spine is finely stitched, and the title information is stitched inside the back cover.
The art inside is amazing. Some of the drawings have Yoko quotes incorporated. There is a balance of simplicity and complexity. At first glance somewhat whimsical, but with a minute attention to detail. Line drawings mostly. A hint of the zen tangle style. Figure drawing. Abstract. Graphic design. Conceptual.
The first time through is slightly rushed, I'm eagerly drawn to see what's on the next page. Getting to the end is almost a relief, now I can go back through and spent time with each image. Let the eye wander and linger. Soak it in.
I'm mesmerized, and at a certain point I realize I'm on the verge of weeping. I cry all the time, so that's not unusual, but I can't remember the last time a work of art caused such an emotional response. I think it's a combination of the overall loveliness of the work, a sense of the devotion the artist poured into it, and nostalgia for that time in my life when Yoko and others were beacons to my lost and wandering young self, and finally, knowing that new generations of young artists are still discovering and being influenced by Yoko.
An absolute treasure.
Order:
Web site:
Review by Jack Cheiky
