Life is Over

 

Dear Irene,

 

We have thought long and hard about the students and their role in our work. Rather than have them simply execute our drawings, we would like to offer them the possibility of authorship through making and curation. By enabling the students to apply an artistic idea, we in turn have the possibility of opening up this series to become an interactive, collaborative project.

 

Attached are 7 drawings from THE JOHN & YOKO DRAWINGS series. These examples show the concept and format. We would like to invite the students to produce new drawings that respect the visual structure, and address social, political and cultural issues. The student's name can be introduced in the drawings as a new collaborator (a third name above the red block on the drawing 'Edwin & Tracy and ...').

 

Questions of size, positioning and method of applying to the walls should be decided by the students.

 

In addition to the forum you have planned, we could do a small session with the students who have made this work.

 

As part of the project, the students should write up a text that contextualizes the project for visitors (i.e. half A4).

 

Background information:THE JOHN & YOKO DRAWINGS, 2000 – ONGOING. The John & Yoko Drawings is an ongoing series of (wall) drawings based on a poster made by John Lennon and Yoko Ono for their peace campaign in the early seventies: ‘WAR IS OVER! if you want it, Love and Peace from John & Yoko’. The drawings address a range of social, political and cultural issues. The first drawing was made shortly after taking part in the exhibition Peace, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst Zurich, Switzerland, 1999-2000.

 

The most recent drawings focus on assisted suïcide and were made for the exhibition project 'LIFE IS OVER! if you want it', 2009, that provided a discursive environment for production, presentation and reflection on issues of life and death. 'LIFE IS OVER! if you want it' was made in response to personal experience of assisted suicide. It combined projections, wall drawings, historical artworks, a public studio and an events program, and merged practice, research and teaching.

 

 

Contributing Rmit Drawing Students

 

Cheryl Conway

Malcolm Lloyd 

Ed Mc Aliece

Ted Mc Kinlay 

Emma Rochester