John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Art, and Populism

This entry looks back to 1969–1971, examining the art of John Lennon and Yoko Ono and its relationship to “New Left” politics. It understands populism as a means to mobilize “the people” toward a common cause opposed to a corrupt and self-serving “elite.” It also recognizes a populist intentionality to many of the works created by Ono and Lennon, particularly that which ceded agency by requiring viewers’ participation. At the same time, however, a disjunction between Lennon and Ono’s political allegiances and some of their actions is recognized. The entry considers the effects of their art contradict their claim to populism. As much as Lennon and Ono became spokespeople for the New Left, their means of engagement with “the people” is considered conditional, potentially reinforcing their elite status. It is argued that art which could boast of inclusive elements also limited inclusion by inflating the celebrity of its creators. In this way, the entry explores complex and contradictory impulses in Lennon and Ono’s art of the period.