John Lennon Paper Doll (part 1)
One of the larger projects @the-paper-apricot worked on for the zine was a paper doll of John. We planned to include photos of the finished doll, and a printable pattern so you could make your own! (We’ll upload the printable version soon). We chatted a lot about the artistic merit of the project, and we planned to include a short essay on the ideas we discussed.
That essay was never written, but here are the main points we wanted to include:
Cutting out and dressing paper dolls is traditionally seen as an activity for girls. As such they are treated as frivolous and lacking substance. There is an interesting interplay between this and the idea that the Beatles were discovered by, and beloved of, young girls before they were ever taken seriously by adult men (this is hyperbole, but you know what we mean)
An early title for the White Album was A Doll’s House (mentioned by Ian MacDonald in Revolution in the Head), inspired by the Ibsen play of the same name. In the play Nora tells her husband:
“And you have always been so kind to me. But our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was papa’s doll-child; and here the children have been my dolls.”
Perhaps the Beatles felt that they had been someone’s playthings.
Andy Warhol played with paper dolls, a fact which we thought added something to the discussion about gender. From an interview with Glenn O’Brien in 1977:
GLENN O’BRIEN: What was your first work of art?
ANDY WARHOL: I used to cut out paper dolls.
John was interested in his own relationship with gender.
"I look at early pictures of meself, and I was torn between being Marlon Brando and being the sensitive poet - the Oscar Wilde part of me with the velvet, feminine side. I was always torn between the two, mainly opting for the macho side, because if you showed the other side, you were dead." John Lennon - 'The Last Rolling Stone Interview' By Jonathan Cott, Rolling Stone Magazine 1980
Tony Bramwell referred to Brian Epstein's home as "that little doll’s house" in his book, although that view wasn't necessarily shared by any of the Beatles.
We were going to make a comparison with the sleeve artwork for Sgt. Pepper, and especially with the insert sheet of cardboard cut-outs that came with it. See https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/1967/03/designing-the-packaging-for-sgt-peppers-lonely-hearts-club-band/ for more on the cover and cut-outs
The idea that the stand-up cut-outs of the band should help the fans take part in the project of Sgt. Pepper as an art ‘event’ seemed especially pertinent.
@the-paper-apricot began work on this doll last spring, shortly after beginning her paper doll pop project.
In part 2 we'll share some photos of the finished doll, and part 3 will include a paper doll of John and patterns of his outfits that you can print and cut out! ✂️
