Like John's life and talent, Imagine Peace Tower extinguished December 8.

In a previous post (November 11), I reflected back on a project I did called Painting Peace. In that post, I mentioned the Imagine Peace Tower, a light tower located on Videy Island in Kollafjörður Bay near Reykjavík. On a clear Icelandic night, the beam from that tower soars two and one-half miles into the cold northern sky. Erected by Yoko Ono in 2006-7, the tower is conjured by 15 searchlights amplified by prisms that act as mirrors. Power for the lights is provided by Iceland's unique geo-thermal energy grid.

 

The column of light from the Imagine Peace Tower projects vertically into the sky from a 30-foot wide wishing well base. Written on the tower’s base in 24 languages are the words “Imagine Peace,” an abbreviated slogan that traces its origins to the “War Is Over! If You Want It” billboards that she and husband John Lennon erected in cities around the world during their successful Year of Peace campaign to end the war in Vietnam. Yoko lights up the tower at different times during the year. It's on every night between the anniversary of John's birth on October 9 and his death on December 8. And just as John’s life and immense talents were extinguished 36 years ago, the light of the Imagine Peace Tower was extinguished yesterday as well.

We miss you, John. But in spite of the passage of time, your genius still shines brightly.