"Dream", An Art?

Never did I expect to be asked 'what is art for?' out of the blue and for that matter, neither did I see Yoko Ono’s “Dream” coming. For me, art is used to put across any person’s ideas or feelings using basically anything from Acrylic paint to toilet paper to produce something expressive and creative. One may convey how she sees her time, her location, her life, her thoughts on something or someone, or how more beautiful something can be. So now, the question is: is the “Dream” of Yoko Ono, which is similar to her other works such as “Imagine Peace” and “War is Over!”, an art?

(Photo Source: The New York Times, December 24, 2008)


At first, I thought that this work can not be considered an art since it is merely a five-letter word in the middle of a parchment. Most people might say it is something anyone could have done without posting it as an artwork. However, I thought about my opinion on what art is for, what art is, or how an art is considered as it is. “Dream” is therefore an art for it was made uniquely, creatively, and well-thought of. It is pleasing that Ono ventured on a path where expressing a message through abstraction meets straightforwardness and simplicity and I think it worked.

Behind the work, Yoko also might have simply thought of urging people to dream or to let their imagination work as they look at the piece. Through the “Dream”, Ono speaks to the audience as well as gives the audience the opportunity to dig deeper and see what this word on an empty paper could mean to them like an abstract painting, enabling the audience to create or look for images embedded or intended to appear in it. So, considering that the “Dream” was created for a purpose or with a message expressed, and that it communicates to the audience, it is an artwork.

As we know, labeling any creation or artwork as an art remains a subjective task. Anyone can agree or disagree to whether this work after all is an art. As for now, Yoko Ono considerably created a good form of art. In addition to that, if this art belongs to other bulletin advertisement type of works we often see every day, then she is one of the most popular creators among other geniuses.