Artist of the day: Artist for the Day, December 18, 2021: John Lennon, a British musician, song writer, poet, artist, philosopher. (#1447)

Saturday, December 18, 2021

Artist for the Day, December 18, 2021: John Lennon, a British musician, song writer, poet, artist, philosopher. (#1447)

John Lennon (1940-1980) was a musician, song writer, poet, artist, philosopher – not from 2,000 years ago but of and for our generation. The art forms that he worked with were vehicles for his message – human love and communication!

Art was actually Lennon’s first love. He began drawing long before he had a guitar. He attended the prestigious Liverpool Art Institute for three years (1957-1960) before The Beatles became a full-time occupation.

In his lifetime, John Lennon, the artist, remained an outsider to the art world, largely because of his fame as a Beatle and how he was viewed by the world as a result of it. In hindsight, that was fortunate, in the sense that it allowed his works to maintain their purity, free from comments and ‘suggestions’ by critics and dealers. He maintained his unique style, untouched by the trends.

John did his drawings with inspiration and speed, very much like how he created his songs. It was obvious that there was a strong, innate need for John to keep creating these works. Most of the time the drawings reflected his mood. Though once, when John was in a dark mood, I looked over his shoulder and found him drawing a very funny picture. Another time, John was in a happy mood, drawing a picture with black humour. Only John would do that, I thought. It was as though John was using the act of drawing to balance and unite his two minds – one, the dark and pessimistic, and the other, the joyful and optimistic. Along with his guitar, pen and paper seemed to have served as ideal tools to express John’s complex emotions.

The graphic collection of John Lennon Artwork has traveled throughout the U.S., England, Spain, Italy, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Hong Kong and Manila.

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