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By GINA VIVINETTO, Times Pop Music Critic
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 4, 2002
(1) The show is called "All You Need Is Love,'' and of course, that was a Beatles tune and a philosophy you and John shared. What are your feelings about the power of love these days?
Love is the energy that is keeping us going, all of us. Love is a very important energy. And it doesn't stop just with loving each other, within a couple. But, when you're in love, it becomes easier to love other people, and, also, you have to love yourself as well.
Is loving yourself the first step? Being cool with yourself so you can love others?
It's very difficult. The hardest thing is to be "cool with yourself" (laughs). I'm just starting to get there (laughs). I'm just starting to love myself after all these years, which is crazy. But I'm just starting to feel like all these silly little things I didn't like about myself, like my tiny hands or something (laughs) -- now I feel like, "Well, that's okay, you know, tiny hands. Hey, you suffered a lot. You went through a lot. You did pretty well. I love you." You know? That kind of thing.
You did suffer a lot. You lost the love of your life, and not everyone supported you in your grief. You handled it with such dignity. How did you do it?
It was very, very difficult. I didn't do it, I just survived, let's put it that way. Survived by the grace of heaven, or whatever. Some big power helped me. And, John as well. John was helping me.
(2) Now, after the terrorist events of Sept. 11 and with war being waged, are you an optimist or a pessimist about the degree of love in the world?
There is a lot we can do. Right now is a time when we just have to be peaceful. Now is the time for "living life in peace," to use Imagine, to use that imagining power.
What inspires you every day?
Every day you should do one thing that will make your heart dance. If your heart cannot dance, then do something for someone else that would make her or his heart dance. We have to keep dancing, you know?
(3) You and John, both from other countries, made New York your home. Are you proud now to be a New Yorker?
Yes, I'm proud. It's not just me; it's New Yorkers in general. There is an attitude of being "proud to be a New Yorker," and also somehow, it's a quieter city now, in that we acknowledge each other. We smile at each other. There is a feeling that we went through something together. It's very interesting.
Is there more of a sense of community?
Yes, and also an incredible sensitivity. When you're facing something very hard, you become wiser, more sensitive.
(4) Last time we spoke, we discussed John's art and how the line drawings were very much influenced by his travels to Japan. Tell us what other artists John admired.
John loved (surrealist Rene) Magritte. When we first had conversations about art -- you know we met in the gallery (at an exhibition of Ono's), then I was invited to his house -- the first thing he started talking about was Magritte. In the sense that, you know how Magritte was wearing a bowler hat and kind of emphasizing the bourgeois life? And John was living the bourgeois life? So that was his excuse (laughs): "I'm like Magritte."
Also, when we were separated and he decided to court me and come back, he asked me if I wouldn't mind going to a Magritte show in town (laughs). So, we went to the Magritte show.
Had John been able to continue with his visual art, would he have eventually tried more conceptual or performance art like you were doing?
He was doing some of that with me at the time.
I don't think he would have ever given up being a rocker. That was a big thing for him. That was his roots.
But because he was so innovative and he loved jumping into new fields, right now, I think John would be adjusting to and creating on the computer. Oh, that would have been great for him.
He would have relished a whole new medium?
Exactly.
(5) We've all heard that you can judge someone by whom they select as their favorite Beatle. We can figure out who yours was, but, just curiously, who is your second favorite Beatle?
(Laughs) That's very hard to say because all three of them, including George Harrison, who just passed away, are very uniquely talented people. I love their talents. I know there is always difficulty with me and Paul, but basically I respect him for what he is.
Describe all three of them, briefly:
George was an innovative person, in the sense that without him, I don't think the Western world would have become so intimate and would have felt close to Indian music and Indian philosophy, which is very powerful stuff. It had been brought in before, but not on that big scale. He really made it understandable for the masses. That was important.
Ringo is a very, very good drummer. Everybody says, "Oh, Ringo is this and Ringo is that," but people don't recognize that so much. But also, Ringo told people, "You can make it." And, there is an incredible sense of humor that Ringo has that most people can relate to, and he has a very, very big, warm heart.
Now, Paul is a very talented person, but very complex. Because of that, I think he is suffering. As most talented people, he is suffering.
(7) What is your favorite John Lennon song?
Oh, come on! (Laughs) That's like a bomb, that question. I could list 120 of them right now. (Sighs) It's difficult to say just one. But, the first one that came to my mind just now is Jealous Guy. It's a very good one, but that doesn't mean it's the best.
Is there a Yoko Ono song you're most proud of?
No.
You're so humble!
No, it's not being humble. I love them all! (laughs)
You're turning 69 this month, but you keep busy, don't you? You recently released a new album, Blueprint for a Sunrise, you toured the world of art museums last year with a fantastic retrospective of your work. And, now, the New York dance club circuit's biggest hit is a remix of Open Your Box, from 1970.
It's so funny because I kept saying to people, "You got to let your heart dance," that whole thing. I made a card and sent it to people, saying that, and then suddenly the dance club is playing me and I thought, "Oh dear, this is interesting." I opened the door for myself, maybe. The younger crowd has always understood me.
(8) Do you have a favorite plant or flower that you find the most beautiful?
Oh, gardenias. That was my favorite, always. And John knew it. One birthday, he got gardenias that filled up the room when I came downstairs. It was beautiful.
Was John very romantic?
He was extremely romantic, are you kidding? (Laughs) It was almost like it was his performance art piece. He was always thinking how could he do something that would surprise me. It was very beautiful. It was great.
(9) Tell me five people from history with whom you'd enjoy eating dinner.
Oh! (Laughs) Einstein. He came right into my mind. Mother Teresa. Indira Gandhi -- wow, wouldn't this be fantastic? Oh, and Magritte, why not?
You and John were so in synch --
(Interrupts) I'm sorry, I'm going to change Magritte to Kafka. (Laughs) There was a point in my life when I was totally in love with Franz Kafka. It's so funny, I was always in love with someone who was dead already.
What is your all-time favorite book?
Oh, The Metamorphosis, or any of his. Also, The Stranger by Camus. Lots of them.
(9) You and John were so in synch, in your philosophies, your outlooks. Is there something the two of you disagreed on?
On an intellectual level, I can't think of anything we really disagreed on. But this is funny: Each time I made tea, he would say, "No, no. You put the milk in first, and then you put the tea in, so the milk warms up. He would say, "This is what (Lennon's aunt) Mimi taught me. You have to put the milk in first." And, and I'd say (groans), "Okay, okay."
Then, one day, in 1980, he just was talking to Mimi. He came back and said (excited), "I was wrong all this time! You're supposed to put the tea in first and then the milk!"
I was laughing.
It was funny, you know? I didn't think it mattered one way or another.
I guess British people are particular about their tea.
I thought it was so cute that he would be like that. He was all worked up about it.
(10) Do you believe in an afterlife, that you are still connected to a person once he or she is gone? Can love transcend the physical world?
Oh yeah. John and I were saying once that we should communicate even if one of us dies. I really think there is a communication, still. A very strong one, actually.
You know what it is? George Harrison -- we were all concerned about him for about two years, but when he finally left, it seemed like he was really ready to go. Not in a sad way. He was feeling joyful, saying, "It's so good to go to the next step." He was waiting for that day. There was a feeling of celebration.
I was amazed. Of course, his family will miss him. The people who are left miss him. But for George it was a great joy to go on. We are in this limited body, and George felt like he could get rid of it, finally. Very beautiful.
-- To contact Gina Vivinetto, email gina@sptimes.com
"All You Need Is Love," a collection of John Lennon's artwork, arrives at Channelside, 615 Channelside Drive, Tampa, 5 to 9 p.m. Friday. The exhibit continues 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. A $2 door donation benefits Children's Surgery International. (813) 223-4250.