Ringo Starr is the latest big name celebrity to help Yoko Ono end gun violence. He just unveiled and dedicated his version of her Knot Violence gun statue design, painted pink in the memory of his fallen friend John Lennon.
The Beatles lost a priceless treasure when John Lennon’s life was stolen from him in a random act of human vs. human gun violence. Now, band member Ringo Starr is speaking out more about the incident. On the 31st anniversary of the musician’s death, his pal has dedicated a new statue to him.
Perez Hilton shared the following news and sentiment about the anti-gun violence art project. He writes, “In honor of the Non-Violence Project Foundation, the former Beatles drummer unveiled a knotted gun statue he designed on the 31st anniversary of Lennon’s death.”
Asking for “peace and love” while encouraging lawmakers to enact stricter gun laws in the city of London, Ringo made his own suggestions about what should happen to people who are caught carrying unlicensed weapons. He says, “If you are caught with a gun it should be a higher sentence. Guns are just becoming more and more. They’re like the death of choice.”
In his argument, The Beatles drummer made a plea to change the gun laws now so that youth of today grow up in a safer world, He confessed the motivation behind making his sculpture, saying, “… we hope that young people will stop. I can’t stand up and dictate to the world: ‘it’s over — no more guns.’ I can just do what I do, and there’s another side to the story which is peace and love.”
The Non Violence Project Foundations says, “2010 marked the seventy year commemoration of John Lennon’s birth as well as the thirty year commemoration of his tragic death. He was shot and killed outside his home in New York in 1980.”
Lennon’s widow Yoko Ono actually came up with the statue design. Featuring a knotted gun, the message that seems to accompany the medium is that violence is knot the answer. Each artist to work with the design has subsequently transformed it predominately by painting it.
But Yoko Ono and Ringo Star are not the only names to give their celebrity endorsement to the project. The Non Violence Project Foundation sponsors a major Knot Violence art exhibit that travels from city to city and gallery to gallery internationally.
Regarding their goals for both past and future mission tours, they write, “The campaign will be carried out by by personal endorsements from 30 internationally renowned individuals, such as Gianluigi Buffon, Wei Wei, Jonas Åkerlund and Michael Ballak. The Tour, will feature non-violence sculptures interpreted by world personalities, youth from around the world as well as local youth from each city where the Exhibition is presented. The Tour will start in Mexico and then continue to Brazil, the US, UK, Italy, South Africa, China and Sweden.”
Their hope is to recruit followers to both join up with and donate to the IOBFFP campaign that stands for IMAGINE ONE BILLION FACES FOR PEACE.
Imagine that this holiday season.
Thank you, John… we miss you but hold you in our hearts as a symbol of peace.