Bagism: Art & Poetry

Exhibit 9


As an artist of many talents, John Lennon has undoubtedly inspired countless numbers of people to explore their own artistic talents. Here then are some of the creations done by John's fans in his honor. If you'd like to contribute something you've created, please read the guidelines for submission.

Black Dream, Imagine, Blood, and Dream by Nica

Black Dream Imagine Blood Dream


Imagine
by Nick Marcotte

Imagine I created this drawing in September 1998 with charcoal pencils, and I used a picture from the picture book "Imagine: A Celebration of John Lennon" for reference. John has touched my life in many ways through his music and life. He is a paragon of the beauty that lies within us all, and reminds us that we must merely find our own individual ways of bringing out that beauty. He is a man if ever I saw one.


Sgt. Pepper
by Jess Geist

Sgt. Pepper This is an acrylic painting I did over winter break '98. Taking an art class at school, I'd discovered that I can paint. My first instinct was to paint the Beatles - especially after the recent 18 year mark of John's death. This is not the full version of the painting. Based on the Sgt. Pepper album liner.


John
by Jess Geist

John Acrylic painting done in my school art class in February 99. Based on his picture on the inside of the White Album. Recognize it? As for inspiration, when are we NOT inspired by his memory?


Imagine
by Christie Walsh

Imagine I drew this portrait of John in 1997. At the time, I was supposed to be studying for finals. However, I got bored quickly and decided to draw for a while. I had been attempting to draw a decent portrait of him for a long time, and that day the picture seemed to draw itself. Unfortunately, it was almost destroyed in my scanner.


Icons
by Meg Low

Icons I created this in October 1998 as a representation of John Lennon's protest of the Vietnam war.


#37 - Only Sleeping
by Susan Rowe

#37 - Only Sleeping #37 - Only Sleeping, a watercolor, was created in 1981, and is part of a collection of over 40 dream and music-inspired paintings created by Oregon artist Susan Rowe. It is the artist's favorite because lots of magical things happened - like the horse in the right foreground just appearing, and the magenta crystal flowers created by adding salt to the wet watercolor - at just the right time. The rainbow circles on the eyes represent pennies, which were placed on the eyes of the dead, an old custom. And, the painting was painted during the song, I'm Only Sleeping, which is one of the most unusual of John/Beatles's creations.


Instant Karma
by Sir Kevin the Geek

Instant Karma A picture of John, two glowing grand pianos, and the definitions of "instant" and "karma" which have been seemingly torn out of a book. An 800x600 BMP version can be download from my website [for use as a wallpaper].


A John Lennon Collage
by Sir Kevin the Geek

A John Lennon Collage Here is a collage I spent hours on using pictures I gathered from across the web. I finished it sometime in December 1998 and I'm quite proud of it. An 800x600 BMP version can be download from my website [for use as a wallpaper].


John Lennon
by Leanne Shaw

John Lennon This is a drawing I did in pen and inks in late 1997, and depicts different eras of John's musical career. John was, of course, the inspiration for this piece.


John Lennon Sketch
by Leanne Shaw

John Lennon Sketch This is a pencil sketch I did of John in 1997 which was meant to be part of a series of pencil sketches of all four Beatles. Unfortunately, I never got around to doing the other Beatles (with the exception of Paul). It is pretty unfinished (that's why there's so much space) but I decided to keep it that way.


untitled
by Lindsey Hines

untitled This is one of my many pencil drawings of John Lennon and it was created on December 8, 1998. I began drawing pictures of John because he is my favorite Beatle and I believe that he was a very talented and beautiful person. The drawing is based on some photographs I found of John Lennon online.


untitled
by Lindsey Hines

untitled This was the first drawing I drew of John Lennon. It is another pencil sketch of Lennon. I was inspired after having seen [The Beatles] Anthology 8 in late 1998. This drawing is based on Lennon's photo on the front of the Let it Be album. John Lennon has been a great inspiration to me and I've tried to use some of my artistic abilities to show my appreciation for the great artist.


untitled
by Lindsey Hines

untitled I drew this on December 27, 1998 after having received a book about John Lennon. This pencil drawing is based on a photograph that was in the book. John Lennon is my inspiration as I have said before and that is why I continue to draw him.


Live in New York
by Christian Vicars

Live in New York I decided to try my natural ability for painting by doing a portrait of John Lennon's concert in New York City's Madision Square Garden in 1972. It's the one and only painting I've ever done using acrylic paint! Original 16" x 20".


Rock 'n' Roll Heaven
by Christian Vicars

Rock 'n' Roll Heaven This pen & ink drawing of what I call "Rock'n'Roll Heaven" shows (from left to right) Jimmy Hendrix, John Lennon, Billy Lee Riley, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Elvis Presley, and John Bonham on the drums. I plan to add more to this mix. The process I used was to draw each individually in black ink on white paper, cut them out using scissors, paste them onto a collage, scan it into the computer, and invert the colors to white on black. Finally, I added an actual photo of the earth on the bass drum.

Double Fantasy
by Brandon Brock

Double Fantasy his was the first drawing I've ever attempted. I was determined to draw something one night, and the only photo that i could think of that would be large enough to draw was an album cover. I glanced over to the adjacent wall where my John Lennon lp collection hung in their frames, and I grabbed "Double Fantasy", since John and Yoko are fairly large on that cover, and the Imagine album was too fuzzy. Amazing what one can do if one simply tried it. ;)


Instant Karma
by Brandon Brock

Instant Karma This drawing was inspired from a spanish calendar I bought, showing a picture of John just as he was playing "Instant Karma". Although my rendering could be improved, drawing it did kill time in my chemistry class.


Sonnet Number Nine
by Briana Eades

i was half asleep in nikki's car
the heat of the vents mixed with the cold night air
i shivered with anticipation
it was only wednesday but i didn't care
i saw the stars when i closed my eyes
when i felt his familiar breath at my ear
and the spell began to take its hold
when he whispered tenderly "this is not here"
my emotions melted into one
without making a sound i laughed and cried
i trailed my finger softly down his face
"but john" i murmured "i thought you'd died"
in my mind i began my rising descent
and for one shining moment i knew what john meant.


God Is Merciful
by Anna Carolina Fagundes

According to what they say,
I wasn't supposed to be born.
My mother keeps on telling
every time I fall,
that I wasn't supposed to be living.

I was born in January, 1981,
a risky birth to everyone.
God, are you there?
God, can you hear me?
They say you saved my life.

I grew older, to like a song
that was always playing in December...
to learn that the singer wasn't no longer there.
God, are you there?
They say he's with you now.

Wish I could tell you, John,
that you and me have something in common -
both our stories weren't meant to be there.
Who would say you'd become a legend?
Who would say I'd survive to that?
But we survived, John.
But we survived.

( the word "John" means "God is merciful" )


Along With Our Song
by Carol-Jean Zrinko

Driving in the car,
I hear a familiar song.
My daughter starts to sing,
"Imagine all the people..."

Tears form in my eyes.
She stops and says gently,
"This song is in your soul."
I quietly nod.

She sits and we listen.
In moments, it is over.
But the silence is not broken,
And we drive on.

When we get home,
I stay in the car a while.
She goes in the house,
Without saying a word.

A few weeks later,
The song is on again.
My daugter, this time,
Starts to sing.

I don't stop her now.
She knows all the words.
You could hear it in her voice.
It has touched her soul.

When we reach home,
She says to me,
"Next time, mother,
Will you sing with me?"

I go to bed that night,
And never wake up.
I look down on her crying,
And she starts to sing.

"Imagine all the people..."
I join in with her,
I think she cannot hear.
Then she looks up.

She says, "I feel you."
"Sing with me, Mother."
We sing together,
Then the song is gone.

She blows a kiss to me,
In the heavens, and says,
" You are in my soul."
"Along with our song."

She never looks back up,
But she knows I'm there.
Every now and then,
She sings our song.

"Imagine all the people..."


Good Bye
by Marisol Oviedo

Children, don't do what I have done.
I couldn't walk, and I tried to run.
So I, I just want to tell you.
Good bye, Good bye.

Nowhere to go, never go home.
Nowhere to go, never go home.
Nowhere to go, never go home.
Nowhere to go, never go home.
Nowhere to go, never go home.

I acted out and wrote a lot, but literally I was calling out for help.

Good bye, good bye.
I was here but now I am gone.
It's over, bye, bye.
I am going, I'm gone.
Nowhere to go, never go home.

This poem is respectfully dedicated to John Lennon


Maya
by Rohit Ballal

Walking down the river,
Heading for the sun.
The ghost of reality,
Stopping your mission.
You step in the alter,
The breeze blows by.
You wish you could vanish,
amongst the saints of the sky.

Chorus:
But don't you see it's a confussion,
simply Maya's illusion.
Yu may think what yu is true,
It ain't nothing new.

Walk through the gate,
where wishes be granted.
Beauty perfect bliss,
Misery dead.
Eden, Nirvana,
call it what you may.
I bet you'd float there,
Float there any day.

Chorus

A road paved on silver,
The bus carraige drives by.
Topped in gems,
It lights up the sky.
Do you jump on it,
or do you not.
Get in the wonder illusion,
Or stay in reality rot.

Chorus

The pedilum of rapture,
It swings your way.
Purity water,
it satisfies your say.
Palm trees of Zine-a,
open paradise.
Everything perfect,
'n everything nice.

Chorus

inspired by Lucy in the Sky


Looking Through a Glass Onion
by Linda van Buchem

Looking through a glass onion
I see all the people sharing
the world in which they're living
eyes are speaking words of love

Looking through a glass onion
I see the world and heaven walking
hand in hand, both not existing
smiling like an unreal dream

Looking through a glass onion
The sun breaks through a sky of grey
people chanting far away
it's all that we are saying

Looking through a glass onion
I see a ninety year old guru
telling his children
tales of true love

Looking through a glass onion
I see John


Superstar Rollercoaster
by Amy Larkin & Bridget Benson

Now for my favorite roller model
Who could give a care less
Leaving a long-lasting legacy
Death by Success

Kurt, John, Bradley, Janis, and Jim
Carefree living as they wrote and they sang
Had all left the world quite dim
But all went out with a bang

A tribute to role models
A tribute to God
A tribute to some of the world's greatest heroes
But not a tribute to sod

A Candle in the Dark, a Walrus, a Flower in the Sun and a Poof
Caught in the vain game of life
All seemingly taken too soon

Their legends will live on for all eternity
Their music will entertain this generation as well as the next
With all their sweet serenity and innocence
And unforgettable text


Beatle Babies
by Kenneth William Neborak

We love you...Yeah Yeah Yeah
We love you...Yeah Yeah Yeah
We loved you much in sixty-four
Today we love you even more

You came upon a mourning scene
Our tragedy had freshly been
In our minds from past November
Something now we still remember

Four young lads from Liverpool
Opened up their own prep school
A generation touched and gladdened
So soon after Satan saddened

You had a spirit none could match
Despondency we quickly trashed
How the hell on God's good earth
Could we not smile when you sang verse?

We promptly grew our hair too long
We memorized all your songs
We cast aside shackles of age
We'd sing forever and stow our rage

History calls us Baby Boomers
I'd like to quell that faulty rumor
We know for sure, we know not maybe
We really are your Beatle Babies


The Dakota Rodeo
by Dr. Ted Hall

The crowd had gathered
Called themselves the human race
But if anyone won
You couldn't find it in their face

Lennon was sequestered
He had seen it all before
A man with his name was
Standing just outside the door

Chorus:
At the Dakota, Dakota Rodeo,
Yes the Dakota, Dakota Rodeo

The world was enraged
Blood dripping from hoof and horn
Anyone who rode
Wished he was never born

When John climbed the fence
The crowd it really went wild
But the man with his name
Only felt his gun and smiled

Chorus

John straddled the world
Behind the horns of hate
Then he nodded his head
A signal to open the gate

O the Queen looked down
Threw a kiss from her Tower of Song
Though she didn't show it
She sense something very wrong

Chorus/shots

Well the crowd hung around
Long after the end of the show
Placing flowers on the gate
Of the late Dakota Rodeo

Chorus, slowly at first, then more and more upbeat lyric tag

Where are the stars of yesterday
Who can say? Who can say?
All we know their light survives
Shining bright in other lives
All we know their light survives
Shining bright in other lives

Repeats


posibilities
by Shawna Woodall

somewhere in the night
a band plays on
loud voices, beer and cigarettes
and dying dreams not yet gone

a chance, a spark, a ray of light
the fire catches
across the city spreads the word
"Those Liverpudlians are good"

a chance misfortune, at the wrong time
everyone deported
back at home with spirts crushed
sitting on a branch in the fading light.

a gathering, a decision, the band plays once more
the fire spreads
skipping school, playing all day
the band in the black leather

later on, they get discovered
a manager
a contract and a degree of fame
girls screaming like crazy

now they're in america
the fire rages
a million voices, all screaming
john, paul, george, ringo-the players names

time goes on, the world changes
so does the band
finally the strain's too much
the band is now in pieces

everyone goes their own way
the fire dies
four different people, once like one
now spilt, eternally

ten years later, john with a son
another tragedy
a crazy man with a loaded gun
spiraling towards infinity

people gather at the spot
the fire once more burns
everybody screams and cries
their hope gone forever

somewhere on another branch
of the great tree of posibilities
there is a man, now 58
with two sons and a wife

the band is back together
the fire rages on
everyone is happy-
but here, dear john, you're gone.


Severed State of Hostility
by Shaun Clarey

The sunlight smashes across the buildings
brightly thrown with a fierce glare
while we all sit and reminisce
about the past on a friendly bar chair
each glass clatters with the laughter
wondering whether to have another and stay
we forget what's happening
to those people near and far away

Then they all come!
inside their rumbling war machines
iron beast submerging torpedos
with one thousand and one marines
sound barrier breaking bombers
swoop swiftly in the sky
beneath floods of fleeing innocents
many of whom will die!

There's a young boy on his knees
screaming for his mother
her body with his fathers
lie dead next to his brother
when the soldiers march the streets
all the children play near
armed bounderies seperate religions
and all who live in fear

Walking through fields of sorrow
a rifle warm at his side
he reaches the coast front
dead bodies crimson the tide
over the waving wide rough waters
calls the country of his birth
multitudes lie dead in the sand
what was it all worth?


Ode to a Friend
by Christopher Bee

Swirling in eternity
Dreams swept from a dove
My mind let's go it's inmost dream
To a world that's lost it's love

How can i live in such a place
How can i free my mind
In a world that has no room for good
With blind in lead of blind

This world forgot it's greatest chance
Upon that winter morn
Can we be forgiven
Can we be untorn

He came to us with dreams of love
He came with dreams of life
Torn from the sky, our dove of peace
Finished with hates knife

Then soon the day approaches
We must relive the pain
Of that night our dove of peace
Was murdered in the rain

When we come to realise
What dreams we lost that night
And our world seems cast in darkness
Let love and peace be light


Killing Machine
by Yellow Girl

A weapon of anger
A tool of hate
What better thing to invest in
Before it's too late
Come join our club
Come shoot some prey
We'd rather be stealing innocent lives
Then doing something constructive today
When people are hurt we give a sigh
Too bad, there's something we could have done
But at least I have the protection of
My beautiful shiny gun

We know it's wrong
We know peace is right
Yet we must fight with our killing machine

It would be easier to blame human nature
And harder to face our own means
Because we know it could have been one of us
And a gun is more than what it seems
It's just a way to kill
And a way to win
As you eat your dead pig for dinner
And ask God to forgive your sins


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Disclaimer: All the items presented in this exhibit (drawings, paintings, poems, etc.) are used with permission. The contributor of each item has claimed that he/she is the legal owner of the item and therefore has the legal right to permit its use. Sam Choukri will not be held liable in the event that the contributor of an item is found not to have the legal right to permit the use of such item. If there is any dispute concerning the ownership of any item, it will be removed until the dispute is resolved.

 

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Last updated on Aug 3, 2002