What Is Grapefruit Conceptual Art

Grapefruit is an artist’s book written by Yoko Ono, originally published in 1964. It has become famous as an early example of conceptual art, containing a series of “event scores” that replace the physical work of art, the traditional stock-in-trade of artists, with instructions that an individual may, or may not, wish to enact. It’s a book of art, though it doesn’t contain any photographs of Ono’s completed art work. It’s poetry and it’s a collage. Ultimately, it’s a book of instructions, instructions for you, the reader, to create your own conceptual art. Grapefruit is one of the monuments of conceptual art of the early 1960s and still a prominent example of 1960s conceptual art and abstract thought, Ono has a lyrical, poetic dimension that
sets her apart from the other conceptual artists of her time. For her, ideas are art, and art is entirely about audience participation. Some of those ideas are utterly hilarious. Others are incredibly solemn. All are thought-provoking. You’re not actually intended to perform most of the pieces, at least not physically. Most of it is head work Ono wants to create a world of abstract thought. It’s clear from Reading Grapefruit that the passages are capable of opening you up to a new way of abstract and idealistic form of thinking