The ‘serious fun’ of John Lennon’s art

As a young man in Liverpool, John Lennon had two creative passions in life: art and rock ‘n’ roll. One fed the other, and each revealed something of an emerging personality with a playful, sometimes biting view of the world around him. The Beatles eventually made him famous, but he never stopped sketching moments from his life.

When he died in 1980, he left behind a cache of drawings made in the 1960s and especially the late ’70s, which have been carefully preserved and reproduced by his widow, artist Yoko Ono. It’s been an ongoing mission of hers to share the work, and it next turns up Feb. 13 through 15 at a Pasadena pop-up gallery to raise money for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Ahead of the show, Ono spoke with Marquee about Lennon’s art — drawings that are typically minimal and whimsical, often depicting Lennon and Ono’s romance.

“I like to show the things to people. I feel that’s my responsibility to the people and to John,” said Ono, 81, of keeping the work in circulation, talking this week by phone from her Manhattan apartment. About 100 limited edition lithographs and etchings will be included in the Pasadena show. “It gives me a feeling of doing something that’s very important, and I’m very lucky that I’m in the position to do it.”

Marquee: It’s obviously been important to you for a long time to keep John Lennon’s work available.

Yoko Ono: When John passed away, I remembered that he really wanted his artwork to be shown around, and I said I better do that. I didn’t get around to it right away because there were so many things I had to do when he passed away, as you can imagine — legal, financial, whatever. After that, I got in touch with people who specialize in putting on shows like this.

How do people react to his art?

In the beginning, art galleries said we don’t do things like dabble with a pop star. John was just a pop star in the art world. So I kept going around to places and somebody said, OK, we’ll do the show if you’ll come to the opening. Of course I’ll come! Now people start to understand how incredible all the pictures are that John did. It’s so amazing.

Did John think of himself as a visual artist?

John was not the kind of person who was trying to achieve something. He wanted to enjoy the beauty of life. What he did with pencil drawings was exactly that, and he wanted to share them with the world. He shared everything with the world. So I’m sure John is very pleased now.

[Years before,] he went to two or three galleries and they said, ‘Well, we can make an exhibit to start. There is a very, very good young artist and we are going to show him. Maybe you can come to the opening and play the guitar.’ They were not very nice to him. He was very upset about it. But he doesn’t need to be upset — there are so many people who want to see these things.

What do you like about his work?

You know what it is? He is so Zen. He was doing these things with a kind of gentle relaxation and enjoyment. Not, “Am I going to sell this?” He was just doing it. That’s the kind of spirit that all artists used to have. Now, many artists are thinking about how much is it going to sell. But it’s a different time.

He was very relaxed about it and that shows. It shows a side of him — a sense of humor. In those days and even now, artists’ work was not very fun — they were very serious. So you go to the museum and you see these big names and they have very serious art. It’s a tradition in the art world, including the theater: Tragedy is respected but comedy is not. And his things were very, very fun. People think it’s fun but not very serious. But fun is serious.

Is there a connection between being visually creative and musically creative?

In his case, there is an incredible connection between his music and art. I think he was more serious in his music, and in art there was a real beautiful light feeling of flying. When people see his work, they are surprised — they get this warm feeling suddenly. They don’t know why. They see a totally different world that most artists don’t show them.

He depicted a lot of personal moments between you and him.

I know. Most people think, “Not again. Not him and Yoko.” [Laughs] We were living together and he got a very cheap model.

What: “All You Need is Love: The Art of John Lennon,” a benefit for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

Where: 88 West Colorado Ave., Pasadena

When: Friday, Feb. 13, noon to 8 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 14, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 15, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Admission: $3 suggested donation

More info: (323) 234-3030, Ext. 163, www.lafoodbank.org.