John Lennon

written by james bohn

Slightly outside of Vilnius’ Old Town in Lithuania, nestled between various buildings in a quaint little courtyard sits a memorial to the late British musician and activist John Lennon. A bronze face of Lennon, modeled after the famous one-eyed photo of the musician taken by Robert Whittaker, sits atop a granite column as conceived by photographer Saulius Paukštys and erected by sculptor Jonas Gencevičius in 2015.

John Lennon, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, was one of four members of The Beatles, as well as a political activist known for his various contributions and shaping of the anti-war movement and larger counterculture of the 1960s. His music, typically consisting of pop-oriented and later more experimental music in english, earned him and his band global recognition for cultural contributions both musically and to activist movements at large.

So it comes as no surprise that Vilnius would elect John Lennon as a musician to memorialize. But the question remains: why memorialize an english musician in the first place? Why not someone more intertwined with Lithuanian history and culture? Perhaps Lennon’s messages and conveyed ideology are in lign with Vilnius residents’ world outlooks, and representation of such an international influence indicates commitment to such values on a global scale. Rather than pursuing nationalistic ideals, this statue asserts a firm openness to cosmopolitanism and modernity in general.

Regardless, John Lennon’s influence on Vilnius was, in essence, a reciprocation of influences Lithuania had on him. Lennon and his wife, multimedia artist Yoko Ono, were both highly involved in the Fluxus movement, an interdisciplinary community of artists started by Lithuanian Jurgis Mačiūnas, which aimed to prioritize the artistic process over the finished product. As a result, one could conclude that this bronze face is, in some way, a trophy of Lithuania’s successes in helping shape global cultural history.