Yoko Ono's Wish Tree for Peggy Guggenheim is located in Peggy's Venice, Italy garden. It is adjacent to the burial spot of Peggy and her many beloved pets.
Magic Wish Tree is affectionately dedicated to Peggy Guggenheim. Peggy met Yoko Ono when she and John Cage visited Japan. Yoko was their cicerone, and they remained friends for the remainder of Peggy’s life.
left -
Yoko Ono (b.1933),
Wish Tree Venice 2003,
To Peggy with Love x Yoko, Albero dei desideri Venezia 2003, A Peggy da Yoko con affetto, 2003, Live olive tree / Ulivo
right- Yoko, John Cage and Peggy - 1962 Photo by Yasuhiro Yoshioka
The Japanese artist Yoko Ono has often declared that: “All my works are a form of wishing.” As a child in Japan, Ono would go to temple and write out a wish on a piece of thin paper and tie it in a knot around the branch of a tree. Trees in temple courtyards were always filled with people’s wish knots, which resembled white flowers blossoming from afar. Ono has completed a number of art works on this theme including Wish Piece, 96’ in which she specifies: “Make a Wish, Write it down on a piece of paper. Fold it and tie it around a branch of a Wish Tree. Ask your friends to do the same. Keep wishing until the branches are covered with wishes.”
The wish tree is located in the far corner of Peggy's garden as seen through this arbor. (behind the gentleman wearing the red coat and Peggy is buried to the left of the pot)
The olive tree was the most popular piece at the museum according to the crowds it attracted. It was almost impossible to get a photograph of just the tree. We left our wishes on a branch. As you can see the wind blew many away.
This
link will take you to a list of other Yoko wish tree installations.
I would also like to show you around the Peggy Guggenheim Museum while we are here but first I would like to back up and show where we were staying and our transportation route to get there.
The forecast was for quite a rainy afternoon so we decided to do museums that day and Peggy's was one on the top of our list. Orbitz's tracking knew we were going to Venice and emailed us the most incredible off-season price for our room right on the Grand Canal. We stayed for six nights on the left side, next to the top floor, in the room with the two green closed shutters. The building on the below right was directly across the canal from our windows
This is the veiw from our room looking to the right in a southerly direction
The view looking to the left in a northerly direction shows the world renowned Rialto Bridge built in 1591. Just to the right of it are ferries where we'll catch one to go to Peggy's.
Although Peggy's is further down the Grand Canal, we caught the wrong ferry and had to circle back. No problem as we loved the views. S. Maria D. Salute
This is the Peggy Guggenheim Museum from the Grand Canal side but no one has docked there in quite some time as shown by the stairs so you enter from the street.
It was a short walk from the ferry dock to the iron gate entrance. We'll tour the gardens before entering the house. The garden consisted mostly of trees and shrubs to highlight an incredible amount of sculptures nestled between them.
I cannot identify many of the sculptors
Mimmo Paladino (b. 1948), The Cloven Viscount, Bronze
Peggy is buried in the far corner of the garden
She lies next to her beloved pets.
(photographer of Peggy unknown. h/t No Man's Land)
Many of the earlier pets lived very short lives
Alright, it's time to move into Peggy's house. We took the first right and went into her dining room. I was immediately attracted to the window overlooking the canal.
Turning back around, I was floored to see a Cy Twombly
The rest of the house was way too crowded to take any more photographs as everyone must have had the same idea because of the weather report. We didn't take anymore photographs until we made it to the terrace overlooking the Grand Canal. This piece of stone with a clearly worn hole in the center was incredible.
Yet it was this piece that seemed to get the most attention and was facing the canal.
I know you will ask so here is a side view. And this is symbolic of what Peggy presented as a front face to the rest of the world.
She was a fascinating woman and I want to read more about her.
Photo by Nino Migliori
We made our way back to the ferry dock
While waiting for our ferry, this photo shoot was taking place next to us on a Church's stairs
I knew she was trying to catch my eye and then make me jealous by kissing him lol
Yet on the other side of the stairs was the most beautiful piece of art work that I had seen all day, this student class waiting for their group photograph when I stepped in and took it. The young innocent faces are our future path to health, happiness and prosperity and had a lot to do with the wish that I left on Yoko's Wish Tree. I think my wish will come true.*
Since the rain appeared to be holding off, we took a ferry to the famous
Hotel Danieli, built in the 14th century to have a limoncello in the hotel bar.
The rain started as we left to go back to our hotel room for a rest before going out that night.
I hope you enjoyed this one afternoon in Venice. It was one amazing afternoon of an incredible trip. Maybe at some point, I'll be able to do another diary on the rest of my time in Venice. Yes, I truly know how fortunate that I am.
*I do not know the nationality, race or ethnicity of the student group. They just happened to be the ones on the steps and I applaud that young adults of all backgrounds will be our future.