John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1969 Bed-In for peace in Montreal (signed by both) sold for more than $155,000 at auction on Nov. 15, 2011. This might be construed as something ironic, since the hand-lettered placard, along with the Lennonesque worded Hair Peace and other signs, was a throwaway. Well, someone did not throw it away.
Lennon and Ono spent their honeymoon in bed at the Amsterdam Hilton, talking to members of the press, before flying to Montreal, Canada, to repeat their act of non-violent protest. They were joined by comedian/activist Dick Gregory, LSD-meister Timothy Leary, DJ Murray The K, and the then newly minted right-wing reactionary Al Capp, creator of Li’l Abner, showed up to express his disdain.
Yoko Ono recently released a previously made documentary on the peace event online.
About Steven Heller
Steven Heller is the co-chair of the SVA MFA Designer /Designer as Author + Entrepreneur program, writes frequently for Wired and Design Observer. He is also the author of over 170 books on design and visual culture. He received the 1999 AIGA Medal and is the 2011 recipient of the Smithsonian National Design Award.View all posts by Steven Heller →