Imagine: The John Lennon Peace Piano Project

by Nicole

The unassuming mid-brown upright Steinway piano John Lennon composed “Imagine” on is touring sites of hate, violence and needless death as part of a peace project it’s former owner would surely have approved of.

So far the piano has visited the Oklahoma City Memorial, post-Katrina New Orleans, and the site of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. It has also turned up at the assassination sites of Dr. Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, and poignantly made its way to the State Penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas on the day of a prisoner’s execution. Lennon’s ode to peace is performed on the piano at each stop.

The instrument is now owned by pop star George Michael, who bought it from a private collector for $2 million at a Sotheby’s auction in 2000. The idea for the Peace Project tour came after it was displayed at the Dallas art gallery owned by Micheal’s longtime partner Kenny Goss as part of a war photography exhibit entitled IMAGINE. At Michael and Goss’ special request the piano visited the home of Gabi and Alec Clayton. The Clayton’s son Bill committed suicide when he was just 17 after being assaulted by a high school gay bashing gang.

“Kenny and George’s deepest wish is to imagine a world of peace, a world without violence,” says creative director Caroline True, on the project’s website. "The selection of these sites evokes a deep sense of emotion for everyone. Capturing these images of this special piano on which a song of peace was composed is the heart of this project."

Images from the piano’s journey will be compiled for a book and DVD, with proceeds going to charity.

| 08/02/07 | Enlightenment