OY/YO

About this Brooklyn Icon

The Brooklyn Museum is commemorating its 200th anniversary by spotlighting 200 standout objects in its encyclopedic collection.

OY/YO is Deborah Kass’s monumental tribute to Brooklyn’s rich cultural landscape. The sunny yellow sculpture has greeted Brooklyn Museum visitors since 2018, exclaiming “YO” in bulky all-caps to those approaching from Grand Army Plaza while facing Washington Avenue with an equally emphatic “OY.” “Yo,” a familiar greeting, and “oy,” an exclamation of frustration, are both baked into Brooklyn’s shared vocabulary thanks to the influence of local Black, Italian American, and Jewish communities. They are also terms that have repeatedly appeared in Kass’s artworks since 2009, each a tongue-in-cheek nod to prominent white male artists of the 20th century. She borrowed Ed Ruscha’s bold yellow letters, the self-referential title of the 1901 painting Yo, Picasso (I, Picasso), and the impressive size of Robert Indiana’s steel Love sculptures. Then, she transformed those elements to honor the diversity that has historically been overshadowed by famous white men.

Since its inclusion in Something to Say, an exhibition that spotlighted the Museum’s role as a shared space for civic dialogue, OY/YO has held a prominent position on the front plaza—a site of community gathering, whether in celebration, memorial, or protest.