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Lennon's other artistry on display in Hyde Park

By CLOE CABRERA | The Tampa Tribune 
Published: February 02, 2012

John Lennon left an indelible mark on the music world, first as one of the "Beatles," then as a solo artist before his death in 1980 after being shot by Mark David Chapman in New York City.

The iconic singer also had a strong passion for art, but he found it difficult to be taken seriously by the art world.

"He was looking for galleries in New York and Canada (to exhibit his artwork)," says Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono. "It was very frustrating because we couldn't find one."

Ono still remembers the joy Lennon got from painting and drawing.

"I used to look over his shoulder when he was working on them," Ono said during a telephone interview from New York. "When he didn't like it or he thought it wasn't good enough, he just threw it in the trash can. The ones he kept, he would say 'Look at this, what do you think?' He was always very eager to get your approval of it."

Starting today, fans can see some of Lennon's work at an exhibit called "Gimme Some Truth: The Artwork of John Lennon," which runs today through Sunday in Hyde Park Village.

The exhibit, presented by Ono and Legacy Fine Art & Productions, benefits the Jason Ackerman Foundation, a local nonprofit agency that uses financial scholarships and interactive activities to improve the lives of children who have survived tragic circumstances.

The exhibit, named after the song Lennon wrote for the "Imagine" album in 1972, features more than 100 drawings and sketches, as well as words handwritten by Lennon from his youth to his days as a Beatle and later until his death.

The limited-edition artwork includes a playful self-portrait Lennon made showing himself standing in the water as the "Statue of Liberty;" a lithograph of a handwritten draft of "Gimme Some Truth;" a simple line drawing of Ono and Lennon sitting on a cloud called "On Cloud 9;" and a pink elephant counting sheep.

More than a dozen new additions were added after the show first visited Hyde Park Village in 2006, says Rudy Siegel, producer.

"A lot of goose bumps are raised when people recount a particular song or what John Lennon and the Beatles meant to them," Siegel says. "It's a very uplifting and thought-provoking exhibit for sure."

Visitors will be able to buy copies of prints and lithographs of handwritten lyrics, such as the Beatles classics "Nowhere Man," "Revolution" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

Ono says visitors will be surprised at Lennon's artistic talents.

"He was as good an artist as a good musician," she says. "He had an incredible sense of humor that sometimes you didn't see when he was working. He was very warm. People expect that he can't do high art, but he was very good at it. I think he was a genius."

Ono hopes the exhibit, like Lennon's music, will inspire his legions of fans and would-be artists.

"This was always a dream of his," Ono adds. "He was so human and so open, and people felt like they knew him, like he could be their next-door neighbor. (His art) gives people hope and encouragement. And I hope it will encourage those who want to get into art to just do it."