Tuesday, October 9, 2007

IMAGINE: Remembering JOHN LENNON


This is an image that I made recently of the mosaic at STRAWBERRY FIELDS, the section in Central Park dedicated to the memory of JOHN LENNON. Today is LENNON's birthday.



From Wikipedia.com:

Strawberry Fields is a 2.5 acre landscaped section in New York's Central Park that is dedicated to the memory of musician John Lennon, and named after his song, "Strawberry Fields Forever". It was designed by Bruce Kelly (1948-1993), the chief landscape architect for the Central Park Conservancy. Strawberry Fields was inaugurated on Lennon's birthday, 9 October 1985, by his widow Yoko Ono, who had underwritten the project.

The entrance to the memorial is located on Central Park West at West 72nd Street, directly across from the Dakota Apartments, where Lennon lived for the latter part of his life and where he was murdered. The memorial is a triangular piece of land falling away on the two Park sides, and its focal point is a circular pathway mosaic of inlaid stones, a reproduction of a mosaic from Pompeii, made by Italian craftsmen as a gift from the city of Naples. In the center of the mosaic is a single word, the title of Lennon's famous song: "Imagine". Along the borders of the triangular area surrounding the mosaic are benches which are endowed in memory of other individuals and maintained by the Central Park Conservancy. Along a path toward the southeast, a plaque lists the nations which contributed to building the memorial. Yoko Ono, who keeps apartments in The Dakota, contributed over a million dollars for the landscaping and for the upkeep endowment.
It is not uncommon for the memorial to be covered with flowers, candles in glasses, and other belongings left behind by Lennon fans. On Lennon's birthday (October 9th) and on the anniversary of his death (December 8th), people gather to sing songs and pay tribute, staying late into what is often a cold night.

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