The Archway

Issue date: 12/4/09 Section: Variety

John Lennon is likely known as one of the most proficient singer and songwriter activists of his time. Lennon became a musical legend with the success of his band-The Beatles, which he formed with three other men. He was instantly immortalized as a cultural icon when he was fatally struck by an assassin's bullet in 1980. It is not a widely-known fact that Lennon was also a talented artist. Lennon always loved to draw. He began drawing as a child and at the Liverpool (England) Art Institute. He continued to draw as an adult, but began sketching more in 1968 when he met artist and later wife Yoko Ono. Lennon later used his drawings as a narrative of his life and his perspective of the world. He also drew sketches for his son Sean. Ono began publishing prints of his work in the mid-1980s to be shown at an exhibit titled "We All Shine On: The Artwork of John Lennon." The exhibit, the title of which comes from the chorus of Lennon's song "Instant Karma," benefits different non-profit organizations. Since Ono started the exhibit, millions of people have been able to see Lennon's perspective of the world. His artwork has been shown around the world. "We All Shine On" was shown at Avon Old Farms Hotel in Avon, Connecticut the weekend of Nov. 13. Admission and sale proceeds benefitted the local Salvation Army. The show included three pieces that had not been shown in the Hartford area. These works are "Consult the Stars," "Turn Left & Make Peace," and "Give Peace a Chance." The exhibit also displayed a handful of paintings Lennon drew specially for his son Sean; several self-portraits; as well as several pieces that show Lennon's perception of the world. Lennon's scribbles of his most famous songs, including "Instant Karma" and "Imagine" were also featured. Most of the sketches and framed lithographs of song lyrics, like "Imagine," "Revolution," and "Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds," are done in black and white. Ono, however, authorized some prints to be done with color due to the fact that some art show displayers insisted on it. Ono once said that art dealers told her, "…if you don't have color, we're not going to put it in the window. That's the attitude I learned as an artist." She decided to add some color washes "in a way that is not so obtrusive or not so aggressive," she described. "Subtle colors in a way that did not interfere with his creativity." "We All Shine On" is an unforgettable memorial to one of the best artists of our time.

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