Long before he had a guitar, John Lennon was a visual artist. While the Beatles quickly became a lifelong occupation for him, he had attended the Liverpool Art Institute for three years prior and produced hundreds of works during his career. Lennon's primary medium was line drawing in pen, pencil and Japanese sumi ink, often centering on themes of love, world peace, his everyday life and his family.Above all, in his art Lennon believed in simplicity, expressing the most possible meaning with the fewest possible strokes of his instrument. Color is notoriously absent in his drawings, the meanings instead conveyed by a short collection of words at the bottom or in the posture and facial expressions of a figure.
Lennon tried to sell his art while he was alive, but he never had much success - one of his greatest challenges being a heavy social resistance to the sexual themes and images he presented. After Scotland Yard confiscated his art for being 'obscene' (it has since been returned) he practically gave up his efforts.
Times have changed, albeit probably not enough, and Yoko Ono, a celebrated iconoclastic artist in her own right, is attempting to reestablish Lennon as one of the greatest artists of his time.
One of the most controversial aspects of this show is that Yoko has colored in many of the pieces, a move that Lennon may easily have balked at. According to Yoko, the show promoters felt color was a necessary addition to sustain public interest in the work. Their taste was evidently so suspect that Yoko insisted she at least be allowed to do the coloring (see interview.)
- Yoko was never a success in her own right and in fact is just, "sucking the marrow from a dead man's bones," in an attempt to make a quick buck.
Another controversial aspect is Yoko herself. One individual I consulted about this article said Yoko was never a success in her own right and in fact is just, "sucking the marrow from a dead man's bones," in an attempt to make a quick buck. I gave the issue serious consideration and decided it's lame to pass such severe judgment on Yoko just 'cause she was married to such a famous and successful dude. Sure, it's helped her out, but as Yoko said, she's making a lot more money off the albums - and they were married, so part of those proceeds do legally belong to her...
The show has been ongoing since 1986 and has traveled around the U.S. and internationally before its arrival in Anchorage. The 5th Avenue Mall will be hosting the collection of limited-edition serigraphs and lithographs (a large collection of originals can be found in New York's Museum of Modern Art,) which have been hand-colored by Yoko.
One of the more interesting things about this show is that it's free to almost everybody involved. I remember being surprised when I learned the Anchorage Museum of History and Art paid tens of thousands of dollars as 'rental fee' for Chihuly's exhibit. I was even more surprised to learn that the rental on Lennon's art is free, Reno Air has donated transportation, and Pacific Edge Gallery in California has donated publicity and logistical support. The 5th Avenue Mall hopes this will turn out to be an innovative way to draw customers into the mall, and the Gallery hopes to make back its small investment (getting the show up here) in sales.
I don't think we need to be cynical about Yoko's motives (though it can be an entertaining diversion) or the quality of the art. Sure, we can turn a cynical eye on the promotional industry which decided coloring them in would be a glitzy way to market the 'product.' But frankly, it's exciting to be able to see art that's been censored by governments the world over for at least 30 years. Of course, seeing a few originals would be preferable...