[2 articles]
Yoko Ono under fire over altered prints of Lennon artworks
http://entertainment.oneindia.in/music/international/2010/yoko-ono-lennon-artworks-100510.html
May 10, 2010
Yoko Ono has come under fire over significantly altered prints of
artworks by her late husband John Lennon, which have been sold for
millions of pounds. The former Beatle, who was shot dead in 1980, was
a student at the Liverpool College of Art.
He produced three books of black-and-white illustrations, and prints
of these works, overseen by Ono, have been offered for sale in
Britain and America. However, some have been coloured in, issued as
limited edition prints and stamped with Lennon's special insignia. In
some cases, it is claimed extra characters may have been added.
Gary Arseneau, a Florida-based artist and creator of original
lithographs who has investigated the sales, claims that the works
should not be sold under Lennon's name. "This is work that John
Lennon has never seen, never created, never approved, and never
signed. The dead don't create artwork," Times Online quoted him as saying.
Ono, however, strongly denies that her late husband's work has in any
way been misrepresented. She admitted that colour was added to some
of Lennon's drawings after his death, but buyers of the limited
edition prints are told of any changes.
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Oh no! Yoko colours in Lennon's prints
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article7120692.ece
The Beatle's widow is under fire for adapting his drawings for sale
May 9, 2010
Cristina Ruiz and Jon Ungoed-Thomas
YOKO ONO faces a row over significantly altered prints of artworks by
John Lennon, which have been sold for millions of pounds.
Lennon, who was a student at the Liverpool College of Art, produced
three books of black-and-white illustrations. Prints of these works,
overseen by Ono, have been offered for sale in Britain and America.
However, some have been coloured in, issued as limited edition prints
and stamped with the former Beatle's special insignia. In some cases,
it is claimed extra characters may have been added.
Gary Arseneau, a Florida-based artist and creator of original
lithographs who has investigated the sales, claims that the works
should not be sold under the name of Lennon, who was shot dead in 1980.
He said: "This is work that John Lennon has never seen, never
created, never approved, and never signed. The dead don't create artwork."
Ono strongly denies that her late husband's work has in any way been
misrepresented. She has said she decided to colour some of Lennon's
drawings after his death, but buyers of the limited edition prints
are told of any changes.
In the mid-1980s, Ono was anxious to gain more recognition for
Lennon's art and started to issue limited prints of his drawings.
More than 50 illustrations were selected with a print run of about
300 for each one. They sell for between $225 (£150) and $9,000 (£6,000) each.
The prints are stamped with Lennon's "chop" mark a stamp
traditionally used by artists in the Far East. Marketing material for
the prints states: "Each limited-edition fine art print is
authenticated by John Lennon's embossed signature and John's personal
chop mark."
Arseneau says the works should not even be permitted to be sold as
limited prints or lithographs, since Lennon was not alive to oversee
the process. He cites US customs rules which state that artistic
prints of a limited number should be "wholly executed by hand by the artist".
Arseneau also looked at some of the original drawings on which he
believes the coloured versions are based. One gallery catalogue
includes a colour picture called An Egg Hatching. Arseneau believes
this limited edition print may have been coloured and adapted from a
rudimentary drawing in Lennon's book, Skywriting by Word of Mouth,
which was published in 1986. He points out that figures appear to
have been added to the picture.
Arseneau has established that an illustrator was hired by Ono to work
on Lennon's drawings. Al Naclerio worked on pictures that appeared in
a book, Real Love: The Drawings for Sean, published after Lennon's death.
Naclerio is credited in the book for "adapting" Lennon's work, but
prints of the same pictures are being sold with no apparent credit
for Naclerio on the websites where the work is promoted.
One of the pictures in the book features giraffes and elephants on a
plain, entitled A Herd Moving. It appears to be loosely based on an
illustration from Lennon's 1964 book, In His Own Write, but animals
seem to have been added.
A Herd Moving has also appeared in a gallery catalogue promoting
Lennon's work. Again, there is no credit for the illustrator who adapted it.
Two galleries in America are authorised by Ono to sell and exhibit
Lennon's work: Legacy Fine Art and Productions in West Palm Beach,
Florida, and Pacific Edge Gallery in Laguna Beach, California.
Artworks attributed to Lennon have been exhibited across the world,
including shows in Britain, and sold to fans.
Arseneau's investigations are now raising questions about whether the
images can be billed as original and authentic work by Lennon.
This weekend an exhibition in Georgetown, Washington, entitled In My
Life, is displaying "100 pieces of art created by John Lennon". One
commentator said it might be more accurate to refer to the works as
"posters" or "altered reproductions".
Rudy Siegel, of Legacy Productions, said clients were given full
information about their purchases and "99.9%" had no complaints about
what they had bought.
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