Before he was a singer, a Beatle, or a music legend, John Lennon (1940 - 1980) was an artist. Professionally trained, he attended the prestigious Liverpool Art Institute from 1957 to 1960. Although Lennon is best known as a singer-songwriter, his legacy was also one of social revolution, humanitarianism, and artistry. His artwork lives on as an inspiring tribute to his hope for global peace and love. Scott Gutterman writes about music and art for Vogue, Artforum, The New Yorker, GQ, and other publications. He is the deputy director of the Neue Galerie New York and the co-author, with Miles Davis, of Miles Davis: The Collected Artwork (Insight Editions) and The Art of Miles Davis (Prentice Hall Press). He lives in New York. Yoko Ono is an artist and peace activist known for her work in avant-garde art, music, and filmmaking. She was married to John Lennon from 1969 until his death in 1980. She lives in New York.
"PubWest Design Award 2015: Silver Award ""John Lennon: The Collected Artwork"" is a beautifully packaged and presented book. The reproductions of his art are as good as those you d see in any collection of this kind and the accompanying text does a good job of explaining their history and background. Lennon will always be best known as a musician, but this collection of his artwork provides a fascinating look into a different facet of an intelligent, opinionated and original mind. That alone makes it worth owning. ""BlogCritics.org"" For all that it reveals an icon, it also asks that we think about him in a different way. Lennon was not a great visual artist; there s not a lot of development in his themes or style, and the images can seem incidental or tossed off. What redeems them, though, is their intimacy, the sense that this is work he was doing for himself. That s something we often lose sight of, the notion of creativity as process rather than as product, that idea that they joy of art emerges in the making, rather than in the release. ""Los Angeles Times"" A surprise witty, economical and accomplished. Comparisons with Thurber and even Steinberg are not too far-fetched, though Lennon developed his own distinctive style, particularly in the late, tender family drawings. ""The Independent (UK),"" ""named as a gift/art book of the year (Bantam edition)"" Takes readers on a journey from the Beatle s early, childhood doodles to his mature, rock star doodles...a rude and revealing energy to his art. As Yoko Ono writes in her introduction, John always brought fresh air to any medium he was working on. ""The Telegraph,"" ""named Best Music Books to Read (Bantam edition)"" "" """"John Lennon: The Collected Artwork"" is a beautifully packaged and presented book. The reproductions of his art are as good as those you'd see in any collection of this kind and the accompanying text does a good job of explaining their history and background. Lennon will always be best known as a musician, but this collection of his artwork provides a fascinating look into a different facet of an intelligent, opinionated and original mind. That alone makes it worth owning."" --""BlogCritics.org"" ""For all that it reveals an icon, it also asks that we think about him in a different way. Lennon was not a great visual artist; there's not a lot of development in his themes or style, and the images can seem incidental or tossed off. What redeems them, though, is their intimacy, the sense that this is work he was doing for himself. That's something we often lose sight of, the notion of creativity as process rather than as product, that idea that they joy of art emerges in the making, rather than in the release."" --""Los Angeles Times"" ""A surprise - witty, economical and accomplished. Comparisons with Thurber and even Steinberg are not too far-fetched, though Lennon developed his own distinctive style, particularly in the late, tender family drawings."" --""The Independent (UK),"" ""named as a gift/art book of the year (Bantam edition)"" ""Takes readers on a journey from the Beatle's early, childhood doodles to his mature, rock star doodles...a rude and revealing energy to his art. As Yoko Ono writes in her introduction, John ""always brought fresh air"" to any medium he was working on."" --""The Telegraph,"" ""named Best Music Books to Read (Bantam edition)"" ""For all that it reveals an icon, it also asks that we think about him in a different way. Lennon was not a great visual artist; there's not a lot of development in his themes or style, and the images can seem incidental or tossed off. What redeems them, though, is their intimacy, the sense that this is work he was doing for himself. That's something we often lose sight of, the notion of creativity as process rather than as product, that idea that they joy of art emerges in the making, rather than in the release."" --""Los Angeles Times"" ""A surprise - witty, economical and accomplished. Comparisons with Thurber and even Steinberg are not too far-fetched, though Lennon developed his own distinctive style, particularly in the late, tender family drawings."" --""The Independent (UK),"" ""named as a gift/art book of the year (Bantam edition)"" ""Takes readers on a journey from the Beatle's early, childhood doodles to his mature, rock star doodles...a rude and revealing energy to his art. As Yoko Ono writes in her introduction, John ""always brought fresh air"" to any medium he was working on."" --""The Telegraph,"" ""named Best Music Books to Read (Bantam edition)"" ""A surprise - witty, economical and accomplished. Comparisons with Thurber and even Steinberg are not too far-fetched, though Lennon developed his own distinctive style, particularly in the late, tender family drawings."" --""The Independent (UK),"" ""named as a gift/art book of the year (Bantam edition)"" ""Takes readers on a journey from the Beatle's early, childhood doodles to his mature, rock star doodles...a rude and revealing energy to his art. As Yoko Ono writes in her introduction, John ""always brought fresh air"" to any medium he was working on."" --""The Telegraph,"" ""named Best Music Books to Read (Bantam edition)"""