Crazy Pablo: Light and Darkness by Yoko Ono

A Tiny Flame on a Timeline

In the video, Match Piece (1955–1985), Yoko Ono sits in front of the camera and repeatedly strikes matches—one after another, each briefly flaring before fading into darkness. No words, no soundtrack, just the rhythmic gesture of ignition and disappearance. The simplicity is disarming, almost hypnotic. But beyond the repetition lies a meditation on impermanence, presence, and the fragility of time. Each flame becomes a life—brief, beautiful, vulnerable.

In Zen terms, it’s an act of witnessing: being fully present with what is, even as it vanishes. Ono doesn’t explain. She invites you to feel. The gesture becomes a ritual, the silence becomes language, and the match becomes a metaphor for all things fleeting. Time is running out.

Think About It 🤔 

Do this. Don’t do that. Ono’s art often comes in the form of instructions—commands, really. But who gets to decide which instructions are art, and which are control?

Throughout history, regimes have feared art precisely because it tells people to do something—think differently, imagine otherwise, question authority.
In Nazi Germany, modern art was labeled degenerate and banned. In Maoist China, even a brushstroke in the wrong style could be seen as subversion. North Korea, Iran, and more recently Hong Kong—all have censored or punished artists who dared to act.

So when Yoko Ono calmly invites us to hammer a nail into a canvas, or to light a match in the dark, she’s asking more than just "Will you do it?"
She’s really asking: Who do you let tell you what to do - and what not to do?

How does it relate to the here and now? or What to say during casual conversation to show off your art knowledge?

The Passing of Time – “Watching Yoko Ono strike match after match reminded me of how short our attention spans have become. Her piece makes you stop and feel the weight of each moment instead. It’s a quiet meditation on how time slips away”

Obedience and Control – “In some regimes, art that questioned authority was banned or destroyed. Yoko Ono flips that idea - her 'instruction pieces' invite you to follow, but only if you choose to. It’s a reminder that even when someone tells you what to do, the act of choosing to obey - or not - is deeply personal, and often political.”

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