Art Talk: Yoko Ono’s "Vase Piece" (1971) with Wayne Miller

Artist and photographer Wayne Miller shares the remarkable story of his connection to Vase Piece, a participatory artwork created by Yoko Ono during the opening of her groundbreaking exhibition This Is Not Here at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York, in 1971.

As a photographer documenting the exhibition, Miller witnessed Ono break a vase and distribute its shards to audience members, inviting them to become stewards of the artwork until it could someday be reassembled. Miller acquired one of the fragments and has preserved it for more than fifty years. Now, the shard and its accompanying documentation are being returned to the Everson Museum, completing a journey that began half a century ago.

Miller explores the origins of Vase Piece, the exhibition in which it was created, and the lasting impact the work has had on his own artistic practice and on fellow artists he has known throughout his career. Drawing on personal experiences and firsthand encounters within the art world, he offers a unique perspective on the ideas that shaped Ono’s work and the artistic movements that influenced her.

The presentation begins with a brief discussion of deaccessioning artworks before examining the creation and significance of Vase Piece and the broader context of This Is Not Here. Miller then traces Yoko Ono’s artistic development, from her childhood through her avant-garde performances and collaborations with composer John Cage. The talk also considers the connections between the Dada movement and FLUXUS, the influential anti-art collective with which Ono was associated.

Audiences will be taken on a visual tour of the exhibition, including rare images from John Lennon’s 31st birthday celebration, before Miller reflects on how these experiences informed his own creative path. The presentation concludes with examples of his performance and public art projects, including A Performance That Hurts, created with guitarist Chris Vine, and two large-scale public artworks that transform commercial aircraft into kinetic sculpture.

During the program, a copy of Yoko Ono’s seminal artist book Grapefruit will be circulated among audience members, providing a tangible connection to the ideas and artistic spirit discussed throughout the talk.

Wayne Miller was born in Brockton, Massachusetts. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Art and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Syracuse University.  After serving as a medical corpsman in Viet Nam, he taught painting and design at the State University of New York. He has served as a director of the Louis K. Meisel Gallery in New York and has worked on numerous gallery and museum installations, as well as television projects.

He has exhibited with the Louis K. Meisel Gallery, Pictogram Gallery and Marcia Uddoh Gallery in New York, the Morgan Gallery in Kansas City, and Miller White Fine Arts in Dennis, Massachusetts.  His work has been represented in more than 50 group exhibitions in the United States, Europe, and Puerto Rico. His paintings and drawings are in over 100 collections in the United States and Europe.

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