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JOHN LENNON
YOKO ONO
BOB GRUEN
A MAJOR LIMITED EDITION PROJECT
AUTHORISED BY THE ESTATE OF JOHN LENNON
Price: £355
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Photography by Bob Gruen. Words by John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Bob Gruen.
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A large-format book comprising 236 pages master-printed in fine screen full
colour and silver underprintings. This edition is limited to 3,500 numbered
copies superbly bound in black leather with silver page edges and
silk-screened aluminium front and back covers. The protective solander box
features a silk-screened metal name plate. The first 2,500 copies are signed
by Bob Gruen and Yoko Ono. Only a few signed copies remain.
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Sometime In New York City
is a detailed personal portrait of John Lennon and
Yoko Ono, featuring mostly full colour and previously unpublished
photographs. The book spans Bob Gruen's friendship with John and Yoko from
1971 through to John's death in 1980. He has remained friends with Yoko and
frequently works with her.
This book tells the tale of two people and one city. It focuses on private
studio moments as well as family life and includes rare opportunities to see
John and Yoko during what has come to be regarded as their most creative
working period together.
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"We were both that strong, John in his driven way and I, in my
passive-aggressive way. But luck would have it that the circumstances were
on our side. John had the whole world behind him. I respected him not only
for his various talents and extreme intelligence but for what he had
achieved in the world. I had nothing but my wits. He kind of respected me
for that. It's like an experienced warrior with lots of medals meeting
another warrior who not only has no medals but doesn't even carry a weapon
of any kind. That tickled his curiosity. There was no friction between us -
only intense curiosity. The fact the world was so terribly against me was a
blessing in a way, too. John felt he had to protect me. He was scorned by
the whole world for being with me. So I felt protective of him."
Yoko Ono
During John and Yoko's time in New York the couple faced major political and
musical challenges. Sometime In New York City explores their increasing
commitment to political causes - from Black Power to Feminism - and gives
first-hand accounts of their experiences with the US Immigration authorities
as they struggled to gain legal residency for John.
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The traumatic split from Yoko, which John describes as his 'Lost Weekend', reveals Lennon at his most volatile and vulnerable. Here John and Yoko give their own accounts of the period.
"I really, really wanted to be with her, wanted to be with her and could not
literally survive without her as a functioning human being - I just went to
pieces. I didn't realize I needed her so much. I needed her more than she
needed me, and I always thought the boot was on the other foot."
John Lennon
"There was an incredibly warm feeling between us. That was true with our
separation period, too. Some couples go on living, holding on to each other
because of insecurity, and then break up by lashing out at each other.
That's sad. I didn't want us to be like that."
Yoko Ono
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As a close personal friend, Bob Gruen was invited to take some of the first photographs of Sean Lennon. These pictures capture intimate moments and show Lennon in his lesser-known role as a devoted father.
"Bob Gruen had a nice vibe. Most photographers got so tense and serious when
they came to take John's photo. I think they were just nervous but they were
so tense that it usually made us nervous too. But with Bob, it was a
breeze... not too casual, but nice and relaxed. So we felt comfortable with
him taking our pictures. Of course, we liked his photos, too. We looked real
in them. Bob was cool and hip and he still is."
Yoko Ono
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"I earned their trust by always showing John and Yoko their pictures before
I sent them out. I wouldn't use anything they didn't approve. It was a
friendly understanding. I wanted them to like what I was doing. I was in it
for the long term. I wanted to do more next week.
We became friends the way you get to be friends with anybody. You meet, get
along, share a sense of humour and get more friendly as time passes. There
were many situations where I did not take pictures, in order not to intrude
on their privacy."
Bob Gruen
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Visit the Picture House, which features two QuickTime movies on Lennon. In the first, Bob Gruen explains how from 1971 he came to assemble his compelling photographic record of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's time in the Big Apple. In the second, Bob tells why he thinks John was so drawn
to life in the busiest city of them all. |
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"Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King are great examples of fantastic
nonviolents who died violently. I can never work that out. We're pacifists,
but I'm not sure what it means when you're such a pacifist that you get
shot. I can never understand that."
John Lennon
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The original poster for the book
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EXTERNAL LINKS:
BeatleLinks - The Beatles Internet Resource Guide
Instant Karma!
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email:
info@genesis-publications.com
© 2008, Genesis Publications Ltd.
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