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2 reports, one from Frank C. Branchini, the other from Nancy Cole
The Artwork of John Lennon
Renaissance Inner Harbor Hotel
Baltimore, MD
Friday, May 24, 2002
The Artwork of John Lennon was sponsored by Baltimore station WQSR-FM. The Steve Rouse and the crew from the Rouse and Company morning show taped a 15 minute interview with Yoko Ono to promote the event. I only heard two very short segments broadcast on Thursday and Friday. On the Thursday segment Steve Rouse asked Yoko about Sean and Julian. She said that Sean is all grown up and living in Los Angeles. She was diplomatic in describing her relationship with Julian saying lots of parents have difficulties in dealing with children. In the Friday segment she was asked about how she met John. It was the standard answer about meeting at the Indica Gallery.
Five of us (me and Paul, Diane Kesler, and Anna Wilkinson) met at the hotel at 6:30 pm to view the exhibit. There were over 100 pieces on display: including works from Bag One, colorized pieces from the Real Love drawings for Sean, signed album covers, and handwritten lyrics for Beatle and solo songs. Mostly of the pieces are line drawings. There were lithographs, serigraphs, and copper etchings hand reproduced from the original drawings. Each piece is signed by Yoko. A few were also signed by John. Prices range from $500 to $16,000.
This was very different from the small, cramped displays at Beatle conventions. The room was large. The artwork lined three of the four walls. Everything was beautifully displayed and lighted. There were two long tables in the middle of the room with additional pieces. The staff was friendly. I expected this to be the same material that I have seen many times. I was pleased by the number of new pieces and pieces I had never before seen. I particularly love the animal-themed work from the real love book. My favorite was "A Herd Moving". I must have good taste, this is the most expensive of the Real Love pieces.
Yoko's influence on John's art is obvious. A lot of the pieces have a very whimsical quality, as does a lot of Yoko's work. A lot of the work is (not surprisingly) influenced by Japanese art. I love the simplicity of it. Everything is beautifully done including the magnificent papers used and the simple but elegant framing.
We did pick out some errors in the descriptions accompanying the artwork.
Nothing is Impossible showed John walking on water. The description
indicated it was done in 1979 at the time of the "we're more popular than
Jesus" comment but, of course, the controversy over that comment took place
in 1966. Another piece had comments about the importance of the number 9 in
John's life. It attempted to make the point that although John died on
December 8 in New York, because of the time difference it was December 9 in
England. But the description erroneously gave the time of John's death as
11:07 am (instead of pm).
Frank C. Branchini
I went to the In My Life: Artwork by John Lennon exhibit at the Renaissance Hotel Harborplace this afternoon (5/26/02). There was a good crowd there, but it wasn’t uncomfortably full. The exhibit was in one of their spacious ballrooms – framed artwork along the walls on three sides of the room and on two very long tables in the center of the room. Most of the artwork seems to be post-1968 – there was very little “pre-Yoko” artwork on display, other than lyrics. All the artwork was accompanied by a brief history or explanation.
On one of the center tables there were paintings/drawings of people and animals that John did for Sean. There was a walrus sunning himself on a rock, a monkey in a tree saying “hello” into a telephone, a laughing horse, a dreaming bird, etc. Very colorful and positive.
On the other center table there were mostly album covers (Imagine, Mind Games, SINYC, and Two Virgins) and various drawings by John. There was also a little fountain in the center of the table
On the walls there were various drawings by John of himself and Yoko. John & Yoko kissing, J & Y walking holding hands, J & Y in a bag, J & Y at the Bed-In with the reporters gathered around, John with his head in the clouds, J & Y & Sean in Japan, Sean taking his first steps toward his mom, John holding Sean and a baby bottle, etc.
There were also erotic drawings that might offend the delicate – mainly John and Yoko engaged in sexual acts or Yoko naked. I had to twist my head around in order to figure out what they were doing in one of them – it’s kind of upside-down. There was also a blown up news article about the fuss these drawings caused when they were first displayed. Many of the pieces in this collection were confiscated and either destroyed or damaged. I think these were part of the Bag One collection that John gave to Yoko as a wedding present.
There were also several handwritten lyrics on display: Imagine, Real Love, In My Life, Beautiful Boy, Revolution, Julia, Woman, I’m Losing You, etc.
Beatles music and John’s music played the entire time. Sometimes it sounded like two songs were playing simultaneously. A video display was showing HELP while I was there, but the sound was off. Overall, a nice exhibit and worth going to if it comes to your area.
For those who wished to purchase some of the art, there were people around to help you with that, but they weren’t obtrusive. The program you received as you came in included a list of art available for sale and the prices. There were also copies of the handwritten & signed lyrics available for sale, t-shirts for sale, and sweatshirts for sale.
Show Pieces :
American Dream, At Last He Could See the Mountains, Back Off Bugalo, Bag One, Bed In For Peace, Borrowed Time, Day Dream, Eiffel Tower, Exile, Fame, Family Tree, Feeling Good, Freeda People (b/w, color), He Tried to Face Reality, Hole Of My Life, Honeymoon, I Do, Imagine Self-Portrait, Kangaroo, Love, Morning Coffee, Musician, Nishi Lennon Portrait, Nothing Is Impossible, Number 9 Dream, Oh! My Love, Once Upon A Time, Peace Brother, Peace on Earth, Poet, Remember Love, Samurai, Steel and Glass, Suddenly 38, Suitors, The Family, The First One, Two Virgins, Visit to Japan, Watch the Holes Yoko, We Made Our Bed, Whatever Gets You, Why Me, Why Not, You Are Here, Erotic #2,3,7 & 8.
Lyrics:
In My Life, Lucy In The Sky, Revolution, Day Tripper, Dear Prudence, I’m So Tired, Julia, Bungalow Bill, Yer Blues, Imagine, Grow Old With Me/Self-portrait, Woman, Beautiful Boy, Real Love, Watching the Wheels Go Round, Borrowed Time, I’m Losing You, Cleanup Time, Stepping Out, Little Flower Princess.
Real Love Drawings for Sean
The Big Dog Frightens, A Bird Bath, A Bird Dreaming, The Camel Dances, A Cat Climbing, An Elephant Forgetting, Fish Winking, Friends, A Frog Marching, Get Along Little Doggies, A Herd Moving, A Horse Laughing, A Monkey Chattering, An Owl Hooting, Puppy Love, A Walrus Wading.
