The Dead Sea Scroll of Rock & Roll
THE DEAD SEA SCROLL OF ROCK & ROLL
This summer has been a fun ride, starting with Stagecoach Festival on the west coast, and peaking with the Dead Sea Scroll of Rock & Roll. I suspect the fun is just beginning.
Tomorrow night, at First Thursdays Downtown, Allan and I will open an exhibit "Classic Rock & Roll Art by Tom Wilkes," at Doc's Music Hall. The event will kick off the official sale of a rare piece of Beatles and rock & roll history.
"Peace to Monterey" is a wacky, psychedelic doodle that the Fab Four put together for Tom Wilkes, who was art director for the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. The drawing, made during the recording of "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band," was included in a program book to go along with the unprecedented event.
It is the only known visual art ever known to which all four Beatles contributed. Tom has been the sole owner of the original artwork for the last 40 years, and has kept it in a safe deposit box. He believes it to be the most valuable Beatles artifact ever, and I'm inclined to agree.
Last week Tom sent us a video, a short interview with Terry Doran. Terry was a close friend to The Beatles, and he was there when "Peace to Monterey" was drawn. He talks about the drawing in a short clip that you can see here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfbPYrrmIm4
Tom has decided to "unearth" what he calls the Dead Sea Scroll of Rock & Roll. In honor of the 40th anniversary of the artwork, and of the Monterey Pop Festval and the Summer of Love, Tom is making the artwork available for public sale.
Even crazier... he's tapped me and the Allan Hays Company to help him do it.
The exhibit at Doc's is a testing ground, a toe in the water, so to speak. If the response is as good as it's been so far, we'll be taking the artwork on a "tour" of other galleries, music halls and coffee shops around the country. We'll be accepting bids on the artwork at the website peacetomonterey.com, and soon to embark on a national promotional campaign. The fun is just beginning.
Carey
The official press release:
RARE BEATLES ART FOR SALE: "Dead Sea Scroll of Rock & Roll" Offered for Public Sale by Muncie, IN Company
MUNCIE, IN - A rare Beatles artifact has resurfaced and is offered for sale.
The Beatles' rare "Peace to Monterey" artwork is an original drawing with felt marker, colored pencil and ink – the only known visual art to which all four members contributed. The drawing was created in 1967 during the recording of "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band," and included in the Monterey Pop Festival program book later that year.
The public sale of the original artwork will launch with an exhibit, "Classic Rock & Roll Art by Tom Wilkes." The art show and sale opens today in Muncie, Indiana, home to The Allan Hays Company, who is managing the sale of the original artifact. Commemorative lithographs of "Peace to Monterey" will be on display, along with prints of Wilkes' works, through September.
Wilkes, who was art director for the Monterey Pop Festival, is selling the original Beatles art to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the historic event and of the artwork. Kept in a safe deposit box for nearly 40 years, he calls it "the Dead Sea Scroll of rock and roll." It is believed to be the most valuable Beatles artifact ever offered for public sale.
"This classic piece of rock art offers a unique view into the minds of a group considered to be biggest pop culture icon of the 20th century," he said. "It has significant cultural value as an artistic document, as it celebrates a time of great spiritual and political change in the world. And now, 40 years later, their message of peace is just as relevant."
Bids on the original artwork are being accepted only through the website peacetomonterey.com.
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posted by Downtown Muncie Indiana @ 10:38 AM
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