Many of the 52,000 visitors who visited the Art Gallery of Ontario during its free to the public opening weekend came to check out the building and as an after thought the art. Unfortunately, some of them did not read the "Please do not touch the art" signs because a piece by Yoko Ono needed to be "touched up". The piece-called Forget It. At one point during the weekend, the needle was bent over; it was later replaced. "We actually keep a bag of large embroidery needles," Susan Bloch-Nevitte, the AGO's executive director of public affairs, told the press. Bloch-Nevitte said the AGO is "aggressively" trying to lure new audiences,"and we know that not all of them have a lot of experience with art galleries, and may not be as clear on what the protocols are." She added the gallery may develop a short video that explains the impact of touching the art. "We're not worried about it. We're seeing it as a good challenge."
I have a feeling that conceptual artist, Yoko Ono might delight in the attention that her art is receiving and that members of the public are so interested in the piece. She is the artist who once produced a video of people's backsides! Also did a performance piece which asked people to cut a piece of her clothing while she sat posed. The process was filmed and is sometimes presented as part of her exhibits or retrospectives. Her art does provoke and make one reflect- in the case of the art under discussion- what is it that should be forgotten?
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