Simone Forti in Her Own Words
A never-before-published interview with the late performance artist, police arrest anti-ICE protesters in DC, and an artist’s scented toilets for Frieze London.
Simone Forti, the renowned performance artist, passed away recently in Los Angeles. She was born in Italy in 1935 and shared a close friendship with Yoko Ono, her contemporary and fellow trailblazer, who was born in Japan in 1933. These two influential artists were only two years apart in age, but their experiences and careers were remarkably similar.
Both were transnational migrants, having been shaped by the hardships of fascism and war in their early lives. They faced discrimination as well; Forti's Jewish family fled Italy due to Mussolini's racial laws, while Ono encountered both exoticization and vilification as an Asian woman.
Forti and Ono were both cross-disciplinary pioneers, transcending boundaries in sound, drawing, poetry, performance, movement, new media, and sculpture. They frequently emphasized touch as a means of connection and often incorporated everyday objects as integral collaborators in their work. In a never-before-published interview, Forti shared her perspectives on her relationship with Ono, the challenges of aging, and her long-standing career.
Written by urgent.news from Hyperallergic's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
