Whatever Art Is

John Lennon fought against the mental comradery of intellectualism, especially in a time period where the political climate made it fashionable.  He loved rock & roll, because it felt primitive as an art form, even though the sound was continuously reinvented.  A no bullshit type of artist, John created music to get under people’s skin.  He believed that “realism gets through to you, despite yourself,” while he actively orchestrated his art to reflect this.  Simplicity was his goal, because he felt that only simplicity was real.

Ironically, or maybe not so, he was attracted and married to a woman with idealistic views that were set just the opposite.  Yoko Ono was the definition of the intellectual spirit and mindset of the time.  Her art was interpretative and eclectic, some even calling it weird or “out there.”  Her thought process was described as a “sort of maths-formula pattern in her head to feel something,” a type of artistic programming that only made complete sense to her.  But, her ignorance to external interpretation outside her own is what made it unique, even when her work was wildly interpreted by her followers.

John would say apathetically “whatever art is”, while Yoko was stern to say “this is art.”  Yoko could only play piano with the score directly in front of her, while John thought that method was insane.  He felt that there was nothing about notes on a piece of paper that had anything to do with true musicianship.  You just had to feel it.

The idea worth pulling away from these two figures isn’t necessarily what work they made, but more the method they approached their work with.  It was more than just authenticity, deep personality or branding; it was simply treating their work in a way they wanted it to be treated.  John made simple music for the soul, lacking any sort of interpretive, decorative rhythm.  He just did what felt right.  Yoko, on the other hand, developed her craft as an open, sometimes even personal, narrative that meant something to her, with its purpose being different to everyone else.

They both had a type of respectful, even selective, ignorance to themselves and their followers.  They worked on stuff that mattered, but didn’t necessarily hand guide how or to who it was distributed.  And in my opinion, there are times when ignorance is the best way to enjoy developing or experiencing any type of creative work, business or otherwise.  Sometimes, it’s just whatever art is to you.  The rest is up to everyone else.

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