Interesting Places I have Photographed.
Topics: Beatlemania, Philatelic Photograph
Knotted Gun (Non-Violence) Sculpture
United Nations, New York
GPS: N40° 45.046; W073° 58.063
Quick Description: The Knotted Gun (aka Non-Violence) sculpture is a memorial to John Lennon and the model for Ringo Starr's design for the Non-Violence Foundation memorial to John Lennon.
Long Description:
After the death of John Lennon at the hands of Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980, Yoko Ono asked his grieving friend, the sculptor Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, to create a tribute to John and his vision and advocacy for a more peaceful and non-violent world as expressed in the lyrics of many of his songs, particularly his 1971 song - Imagine.
"You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I am not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one"
The result was the the famous bronze sculpture “The Knotted Gun” which is now located in the plaza at the entrance to the United Nations Building in New York City.
The Knotted Gun was was originally located at the Strawberry Fields Memorial in Central Park. It is just across the street from the Dakota, where John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived. In 1988, the Knotted Gun was placed outside the United Nations headquarters in New York. At the dedication, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, described the symbolism:
"The sculpture, Non-Violence, has not only endowed the United Nations with a cherished work of art; it has enriched the consciousness of humanity with a powerful symbol that encapsulates, in a few simple curves, the greatest prayer of man; that which asks not for victory, but for peace"
The Knotted Gun has become a worldwide symbol of the non-violence movement. Many replicas of this sculpture can be found around the world, including, the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, at the Waterfront in Cape Town and in the Peace Park in Beijing, China.
More recently the Non-Violence Foundation commissioned former Beatle Ringo Starr to create his own rainbow-colored interpretation of the Knotted Gun to commemorate the 31st anniversary of John Lennon’s murder. The sculpture carries the inscription IMAGINE. The sculpture was unveiled in London in December 2011.
After the death of John Lennon at the hands of Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980, Yoko Ono asked his grieving friend, the sculptor Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, to create a tribute to John and his vision and advocacy for a more peaceful and non-violent world as expressed in the lyrics of many of his songs, particularly his 1971 song - Imagine.
"You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I am not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one"
The result was the the famous bronze sculpture “The Knotted Gun” which is now located in the plaza at the entrance to the United Nations Building in New York City.
The Knotted Gun was was originally located at the Strawberry Fields Memorial in Central Park. It is just across the street from the Dakota, where John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived. In 1988, the Knotted Gun was placed outside the United Nations headquarters in New York. At the dedication, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, described the symbolism:
"The sculpture, Non-Violence, has not only endowed the United Nations with a cherished work of art; it has enriched the consciousness of humanity with a powerful symbol that encapsulates, in a few simple curves, the greatest prayer of man; that which asks not for victory, but for peace"
The Knotted Gun has become a worldwide symbol of the non-violence movement. Many replicas of this sculpture can be found around the world, including, the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, at the Waterfront in Cape Town and in the Peace Park in Beijing, China.
More recently the Non-Violence Foundation commissioned former Beatle Ringo Starr to create his own rainbow-colored interpretation of the Knotted Gun to commemorate the 31st anniversary of John Lennon’s murder. The sculpture carries the inscription IMAGINE. The sculpture was unveiled in London in December 2011.
Location:
United Nations
405 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017
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