Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)

From the “Black Butterfly: The Muse” series, installation portrait of John Lennon, charcoal on Mylar drafting film, 15 x 14” in vintage lighted corner shrine box, overall 20 x 18 x 10.” The translucent Mylar allows the back lighting to shine through the drawing. There is a small installation on the built-in shelf of the box: a traditional Indian oil lamp and incense burner, and a photo of Lennon with second wife Yoko Ono, from the cover of “The Wedding Album” (1969.) There will eventually be a real decoupage butterfly on the upper portion of the box. In the photo, I have taped a temporary one to the box to show placement.

John Winston Ono Lennon, (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980) was an English rock musician, singer, songwriter, artist and peace activist and one of the founding members of The Beatles. My installation piece is inspired by the John Lennon 1970 single Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) and incorporates references to the Beatles trip to India in 1968 to study Transcendental Meditation. Lennon’s resemblance to Jesus in the portrait is intentional as an acknowledgment of his March 4, 1966 statement to the press: “(The Beatles are) more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first-rock 'n' roll or Christianity.”

In February 1968, the flower-power counterculture was alive and well, flourishing in a village called Rishikesh in the Himilayan foothills. There, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was offering a three-month course in transcendental meditation.

While other swamis were offering traditional spiritual instruction in modest huts along the banks of the Ganges, the Maharishi had constructed an air-conditioned ashram — surrounded by barbed wire — for the comfort and privacy of celebrity acolytes such as actress Mia Farrow, Beach Boy Mike Love, folk singer Donovan and, of course, John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Symbolism:

In Hinduism, the lotus (water lily) primarily represents beauty and non-attachment. The lotus is rooted in the mud but floats on the water without becoming wet or muddy. This symbolizes how one should live in the world in order to gain release from rebirth: without attachment to one's surroundings. Water has been an object of worship since a very early age among the Hindus, and plays an important role even today in Hindu religious rites. During all purification rites, water is sprinkled on the object to be purified. The butterfly is symbolic to me as Lennon’s muse, or inspiration, and in this case, is also a symbol for transformation in the afterlife.

I used several different reference photos of John Lennon combined to create this unique image. The clouds across his forehead are taken from the cover of Lennon's "Imagine" album. The mosaic backdrop is from photos of the John Lennon Imagine memorial mosaic at Strawberry Fields in Central Park in New York City. The Lotus reference was taken by my good friend Lindybird.

I listened to John Lennon’s music, and covers of it as well, throughout the drawing process. I was frequently moved to tears by the fact that so many of the lyrics are still relevant today.

~ Imagine Peace! ~ Alice

(For my September solo exhibition, the installation will be placed in a darkened corner of the gallery, and there will be more items related to John Lennon’s life included on a pedestal.)

Studio music:

“Imagine” John Lennon
“Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur”
“Across the Universe Soundtrack”


Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) lyrics

Songwriter: John Winston Lennon

Instant Karma's gonna get you,
Gonna knock you right on the head,
You better get yourself together,
Pretty soon you're gonna be dead,
What in the world you thinking of,
Laughing in the face of love,
What on earth you tryin' to do,
It's up to you, yeah you.

Instant Karma's gonna get you,
Gonna look you right in the face,
Better get yourself together darlin',
Join the human race,
How in the world you gonna see,
Laughin' at fools like me,
Who on earth d'you think you are,
A super star,
Well, right you are.

Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun,
Well we all shine on,
Ev'ryone come on.

Instant Karma's gonna get you,
Gonna knock you off your feet,
Better recognize your brothers,
Ev'ryone you meet,
Why in the world are we here,
Surely not to live in pain and fear,
Why on earth are you there,
When you're ev'rywhere,
Come and get your share.

Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun,
Yeah we all shine on,
Come on and on and on on on,
Yeah yeah, alright, uh huh, ah-.

Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun,
Yeah we all shine on,
On and on and on on and on.

Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun.
Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun.
Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun.
Yeah we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun.

“Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur”

"Garden Poems" daily study

"Garden Poems" charcoal on mylar film, 9 1/2 x 7 1/2"

This piece was requested, along with a few other of my small works, for a group figurative show at Argosy Gallery, Bar Harbor, Maine, August 2009.

$500.00, contact the gallery for details.

"3 Graces" triptych

Charcoal on Mylar film, side pieces, 20 x 16" center piece, 30×20." From the "Black Butterfly: The Muse" series.

The 3 Graces: Aglaia (radiance) Euphrosyne (joy) Thalia (flowering) It was the poet Hesiod who named the Graces in his Theogony: "Then Eurynome, Ocean's fair daughter, bore to Zeus the three Graces, all fair-cheeked, Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and shapely Thalia; their alluring eyes glance from under their brows, and from their eyelids drips desire that unstrings the limbs."

From reference photos of San Francisco groupies, 1968 - 69, by Rolling Stone magazine photographer Baron Wolman.



3 Graces ~ section 1 ~ Aglaia (radiance): groupie Karen Seltenrich, San Francisco, Nov. 1968. Image was used in a New York Times article “When we tell you what a Groupie is, will you really understand?”



3 Graces ~ section 2 ~ Thalia (flowering): groupie Sally Mann, San Francisco, Nov. 1968. (No relation to the photographer of the same name) Sally married Jefferson Airplane's Spencer Dryden in 1970.



3 Graces ~ section 3 ~ Euphrosyne (joy): groupie “HARLOW”, San Francisco, Nov. 1969.

Here is a quote from Baron about the groupies:

"As concert promoter Bill Graham has given me all access to any of the concerts he produced, I spent quite a bit of time backstage with the bands, their roadies and their women. What fascinated me were the lengths to which the women, the groupies, went to prepare themselves for their backstage appearances. Because I also wanted an excuse to photograph them, I suggested to Jann they might make an interesting story. He agreed and Rolling Stone Magazine No. 27 became known as "the groupie issue." It was widely promoted, read and commented upon, even turned into a book." - Baron Wolman

I saw these photos in an old book picked up at a resale shop. I fell in love with the groupies, and Baron was so gracious to allow me to use them for the drawings. The feminine effect of the references are enhanced with the flowers and butterflies. I decided to draw Sally Mann, the subject of the centerpiece, holding the lilies, as she married soon after the photo was taken. The center piece is considerably larger than the side pieces, on these the flowers and butterflies are from a pattern I saw on scented drawer liner paper. It's all about peace & love & hippie-ness, baby. :)

While the rest of the models I've used in the series are in the arts themselves, I was intrigued with the idea of groupies - and their intrigue with rock & roll artists of the late 1960's. It seems to me they were using their own bodies and persona as an art form to attract their artistic "muses."

I guess you could consider some of the works in my Black Butterfly series "Cover Tunes." I believe the borrowed references are vital to the series to relate the idea of inspiration, and its relation to talent and celebrity. These "tunes" well deserve a stylish, honorable replay. Many thanks to the talented people who have loaned their vision of the muse to aid me in illustrating my ideas.

Daily Study: Chelsea Robin

A father’s day gift for Steve. Oil on board, 8×8”

The English robins are so different from the US variety. We loved this little fellow, and he (she?) sat in the garden of our London, Chelsea garden apartment and visited us daily. :) I finally finished the painting today after being dissatisfied with earlier attempts – I still struggle with oils! grrr… Steve likes it – a nice reminder of our wonderful trip!

Daily Study: Whitman and Psyche

Study for a larger work, charcoal on mylar drafting film, with digital underlay of a Walt Whitman poem. Image size: 9 1/2 x 7". In vintage tabletop swing frame: 12 1/2 x 11" overall. Facsimile butterfly.

Another small work to be included in my "Black Butterfly: The Muse" solo show, which is scheduled to open on September 18th in Chicago. In the series, the butterfly is a symbol for the artist's muse, and all of the subjects I'm drawing are in the arts. I've been reading poetry recently, and am pleased to include Walt Whitman in the series.

"Whitman and the Butterfly
The reference photograph, taken in 1877, was one of Whitman's favorites. He used the butterfly-on-hand as a recurring motif in his books and intended for this photo to be reproduced as the frontispiece in this sample proof of Leaves of Grass from 1891. To foster the image of himself as one with nature, he claimed that insect was real and one of his "good friends." But a band visible around Whitman's finger matches the wire under the butterfly artifact (above). This colorful cardboard prop was tucked into one of the first Whitman notebooks donated to the Library in 1918. The word "Easter" is printed down its spine. Dr. Bucke, one of his literary heirs, said the butterfly was Psyche, the poet's soul."*

*source: “Good Gray Poet: Revising Himself”, http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/whitman-goodgraypoet.html

“Le Papillon”

Small work, charcoal and white pastel on Mylar, 9×7”

This young French student artist wandered into my studio one evening during our open studio event. I liked her look and thought she would be a good model for my Black Butterfly series, so I asked if she would mind posing for a few photos. We had a fun visit, and she showed me her lovely Moleskine sketch journal and we also exchanged emails.

I took quite a few great photos of Melodie, so I most likely will do another small work or two from them. She was a delight. Also, I am happy to realize that “Melodie” is the Muse of Music.

These small studies present their own challenges. I like to complete them in one sitting and the scale is difficult for detail, but I feel that I did capture the subject's hopefulness and creativity in this small work.

Playing With Fire

"Playing With Fire" From the “Black Butterfly: The Muse” series.

Charcoal on mylar film, in vintage c. 1924 frame, with bubble type glass. 18×12” overall, framed. Completed in two sessions.

Luna moth.

Candle from my own reference photo.

I'm still exploring the idea of how the muse can have negative effects on the personality. Here, the moth may be consumed by the irresistible flame of it's "muse."