John Lennon Is Not Dead is an exhibition taking place at The Stash Gallery inside Vout-O-Reenee's. The exhibition features contributions from 80 esteemed artists who have either made a new work or unearthed something special to celebrate the 80th anniversary of John Lennon's birth. Four of the artists said a few words about what they're contributing...
Above: Emma Coleman: Here’s John Lennon visiting David Bowie and Iggy Pop when they lived in Berlin in the ‘70’s. Their apartment probably didn’t really look like this but I like to think of them on the sofa talking about music and shooting the breeze. Iggy Pop apparently ate all of David Bowie’s food so eventually David Bowie asked Iggy POP to move out and he did - to the apartment next door with his girlfriend. I don’t know when he uttered it - probably a bit later on than this scenario but John Lennon said “Glam Rock is just rock n’ roll with lipstick”. It’s nice to think of an ethereal genius creature like David Bowie eating food, shopping for food, maybe browsing the posh department store KaDeWe and hosting a Beatle. The poster behind them is of a nightclub they liked - it was Berlin’s answer to Studio 54. In the apartment they used to watch a children’s TV programme with a presenter called Uncle Floyd."
Above: Raksha Patel: "Cosmic Guru is based on the time the Beatles spent with Maharishi in Rishikesh. The painting is from a photograph
of Lennon playing the flute by the River Ganges. The image particularly struck me because it reminded me of paintings
I've seen of Krishna playing the flute, the pose is exactly the same and the landscape with the tree very similar. I'm sure
that the Beatles would be aware of this well known image and whether Lennon was imitating the pose, nevertheless its
beautiful and peaceful. The hippy flowers are from a 70's poster of Maharishi and reference all those magical states of
mind through meditation as well as taking LSD."
Above: Chris Tosic: "Give Peace a Chance was a great tune with a very earthy production, full of mayhem and chaos but somehow it all glued together. The message was very clear, everybody needs to come together to make something like Peace happen. For me, that's what Lennon was about. I don't know whether he was good or a bad man, but he understood conflict is a lose / lose position. Badge of Peace is just a simple sign that I hope carries that gesture."
Above: Duglas T. Stewart: "I remember George Martin saying the story of The Beatles was one of the greatest twentieth century love stories and he meant the love story of John and Paul. I wanted to do a picture inspired by and about their love. It changed the world and had such an incredible legacy. So I wanted to celebrate that.
A memory I have is being at Bellshill station on the morning the news of John's death broke and two old guys were talking
"I hear that Jack Lemmon has been shot"
"Oh no, the one from The Odd Couple?"
"No, the one from The Beatles"
"What was the other one called again?"
"McCartney?"
"No, Walter Matthau. It'll be hard for him". I thought John might have appreciated the absurd humour of this conversation."
John Lennon’s Not Dead will feature; drawings, paintings, photography, and collage. There will also be some specially made music and animation and some surprise performances. Because of social distancing there will be 4 Fab gatherings (some of which will be filmed and then shared on You Tube) rather than one big opening party. The Stash Gallery is inside Vout-O-Reenee's, The Crypt, 30 Prescot St, E1 8BB. Please note this celebration of John Winston Ono Lennon is unauthorized and 100 % unofficial. Vout-O-Reenee's is a private members club and pre booking is essential. http://vout-o-reenees.com/events/john-lennon-is-not-dead-hes-80/ Buy your tickets: HERE
The show opens on Friday 2nd Oct and closes on Wednesday 28th Oct. Vout-O-Reene's is open Tues -Sat 5pm till Late.
No comments:
Post a Comment