JOHN LENNON AND THE VISUAL ARTS

Parts of this have since appeared in publications elsewhere. Posting the file because it contains additional detail/ ideas/ correspondence on various topics. Discussion of Lennon, McCartney, Duchamp & Stockhausen is unique to this, though selections from sections on 'Norwegian Wood' appear in the articles 'Where You Once Belonged' & 'The Beatles' Uses of Literacy'. Discussion on Hoggart & Melly appear in my review of Hoggart (1957/2009). The rest is fresh.

2016

rapport nr.: Report/Department of Applied Information …, 2010

EIRINI DANAI VLACHOU "Nothing is Beatleproof!"* In what context? Art and the artist's image as communication ABSTRACT Art is often defined as a process of creation guided by artist' s intention. However, artwork as a means of expression is also a communicative medium. Does context and audience influence artwork and identity of artists? How? Can one define an artwork as a co-design between artist and context, including the audience? What is the role of communication in this process? The purpose of the thesis is to explore the idea of art as a communicative co-design process by studying the relation between the popular music band Beatles and its context. Is their image or identity a result of a marketing intention or a co-design, which occurred between the band and their audience and colleagues? The band' s artistic approaches, patterns and strategies are viewed from a communication perspective. Answers to the above questions are found in communication theories related to creative processes, production and the media, studies in aesthetic theories and popular culture, and examples of communication between the band and its audience as well as between the band and other artists. The present study finds that interaction with audience had a profound effect on the Beatles' art and image. It concludes that both artwork and artist' s identity are shaped through communication and co-design influenced by context, i.e. not simply products of artistic intention nor marketing strategies.

2012

Through Lewis Carroll's "Looking-Glass" "Sevensinns in her singthings Plurabelle in her prose Seashell ebb music wayriver she flows" (1). Examining the influence of one individual upon another, or (especially) comparing the achievements of one to another, is always a tricky business. Traditional studies of how, for instance, Matisse's landmark Fauvist paintings laid the groundwork for Picasso's towering abstract canvases, or how Frank Lloyd Wright's classic Prairie Style building designs compare to Philip Johnson's ultra-modern architectural accomplishments, typically provide an easy sense of how at least part of one person's creative output can be seen to relate to at least part of another's, working later in the same field. However, when this type of examination or comparison involves the works of three individuals-such as considering the relationship between one of John Lennon's songs and one of James Joyce's novels through their common use of the literary inventions of Lewis Carroll-we move from the realm of the relatively obvious into that of the more obscure. With that in mind, the wit and literary dexterity of the lyrics in Lennon's song "I am the Walrus" can be compared to the whimsy and musicality of Joyce's skills with language in Finnegans Wake. Furthermore, similarities in Joyce's and Lennon's artistic creations may be observed through an analysis of their mutual interest in, and elaborations upon, the wordplay and characters to be found in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. For these reasons, a close look at Joyce's prose and Lennon's lyrics, with Carroll's fantasy as intermediary, warrants attention. And an understanding of Lennon's knowledge of Joyce, as well as Joyce's and Lennon's knowledge of Carroll, supports the connections.

2012

Art is often defined as a process of creation guided by artist' s intention. However, artwork as a means of expression is also a communicative medium. How do socio-political contexts influence the artwork and identity of artists? Can one define an artwork as a co-design between artist and its socio-political context? What is the role of the media, the intermediate, in communication in this process? The purpose of the thesis is to explore the idea of art as a communicative co-design process by studying the relation between the popular music band Beatles, their collaborators, and the socio-political context they emerged from. Is their image or identity a result of a co-design, which occurred between the band and the socio-political realities of the day as communicated via the media? The band' s communicative approaches, patterns and strategies are viewed in relation to socio-political perspectives and the role of media. Answers to the above questions are to be found in communication theories related to production and media processes, studies related to society, politics, and the media, and examples of communicative interaction between the band and the political and social forces. The study finds that socio-political, market and media parameters had a profound effect on the Beatles' art and image. It concludes that both artwork and artist' s identity are co-shaped through communication; a co-design influenced by context, i.e. not simply products of artistic intention nor marketing strategies.

Art and Christianity 48, 2006

2017

Courtauld Books Online is a series of scholarly books published by The Courtauld Institute of Art. The series includes research publications that emerge from Courtauld Research Forum events and Courtauld projects involving an array of outstanding scholars from art history and conservation across the world. It is an open-access series, freely available to readers to read online and to download without charge. The series has been developed in the context of research priorities of The Courtauld Institute of Art which emphasise the extension of knowledge in the fields of art history and conservation, and the development of new patterns of explanation.

The prelude of the paper concentrates on situating lyrics of the song as an extended part of literature and, consequently, places it as a valid source in reconstructing the past. At the next, the study would make an attempt to extract ideas and facts out of the lyrics of purely entertainment-oriented songs that neither has been authenticated by the composer himself in connection to specific historical coordinates nor can be placed in terms of their direct portrayal of contemporary socio-political milieu. A synthetic approach of analyzing tool can be exercised here by situating the dates of creations of them with known chronology of contemporary events. Kind of literary analysis also becomes imperative here. Application of such method would be done here by scrutinizing two musical pieces of same sort composed by Western rock master John Lennon and Indian musical genius Salil Chowdhury. Conclusion endeavours at seizing the psychological state of mind of both composers who got perplexed under vicious circle of ideological beliefs at one end and decent livelihood at the other. The dealt songs tend to represent exactly such crisis of identity. Preamble to the theme: In respect of more recent objective approach of analysis, literature, particularly the kind that has been blended with the creative intellect of the author, is a form of consciousness that reflects realities in artistic images embodying human mind " s aesthetic attitude to it. Such kind of literature often deals with different dimensions of human emotion and behaviour. Apparently, the work of a historian demands more materialistic approach, whereas the art of creative literature involves more passionate narratives on inner and subjective perspectives of human mind. Yet, at certain stage, a true instance of literature ought to be situated into its own time and space. German philosopher Karl Marx, as a believer of socioeconomic reality, put forth the argument that human beings are born in a few definite social realities that ultimately contribute in shaping their mental faculty. Thus, in view of Marx, all the ideas and discourses are the outcome of both social and economic realities. Marxist theoretician Georgi Plekhanov, in his article Art and Social Life, strongly recommended that, like wealth or science, the variable spheres of art also must possess noble intention or attribute towards serving mankind for useful purposes and not