Yoko Ono's art exhibition, This Is Not Here, occupied the entire Everson Museum at Syracuse University from October 9th (John's 31st birthday) through the 27th, 1971. John and Yoko, along with museum director Jim Harithas, held a press conference at the Hotel Syracuse on October 5th to promote the event.
Yoko also gave some remarks and fielded questions at the museum on October 8th, the day prior to the opening. The next day, John looked on like a proud parent as the crowds explored and participated in Yoko's pieces.
Late that night, John's birthday was celebrated with a singalong party in their suite at the Hotel Syracuse, attended by Ringo and Maureen Starr, Phil Spector, Klaus Voormann, Allan Ginsberg, and Jonas Mekas, who shot a bit of footage:
John, Yoko, and Mekas participated in a bizarre (even by their standards) television show a few days later, apparently to promote the gallery show. Taped October 14th at a Syracuse TV studio, the program was 64 minutes of television without form or narrative, consisting of audience participation pieces culled from Yoko's career, extracts of her films, and exercises from Grapefruit, all tossed together in a surreal fashion. The result was aired on the WNET (public TV) series Free Time, to the bafflement of all:
Are you doing like a special on John and Yoko at the moment, or are there so few interviews with the other three from that time (early 70s)?
ReplyDeleteThe other three only tended to do interviews when they were on tour, or had a new album to promote. John and Yoko talked to anyone, anywhere, plus they always had multiple ongoing projects. The next post will be J & Y, and then we'll catch up with what Paul and George were doing.
DeleteIn the John birthday film, do you know who besides John and Phil Spector are playing guitars?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jack
Oof, that Yoko press conference belongs on a "Worst of Yoko" tape! Wow. After listening to her on that Scott Muni interview really softened me up...so sweet and cute!.....but now after the shrill, pompous, pretentious lecture that served as her "statement" to the press, I'm starting to get impatient with her (and her husband!!) again! (nothing a little "Death of Samantha" or "Mind Train" won't fix!) What Jock and Yono never took into account was it had less to do with her being a Japanese artist or her being a woman....it had to do with her personality! In that, she was no John Lennon (or any other Beatle), that's for sure!
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