Nutopia

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Nutopia is a conceptual country, sometimes referred to as a micronation, [1] [2] founded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. One of the reasons that the country was founded was to address Lennon's then-ongoing immigration problems (the previous week he received a deportation order) [3] through satirical means.

Contents

As of April 2024, individuals have been able to declare their citizenship of Nutopia via a website. The call to join Nutopia was made through Yoko Ono’s account on X (formerly Twitter) and others. [4] [5]

There is no leadership and not all citizenships have been recorded. As a result, the population is unknown.

Nutopia is a portmanteau of "new" and "utopia" which suggests Nutopia is a new, utopian society.[ citation needed ] There is also the word play with "nut" (slang word for an insane person) and "utopia". [6]

History

Lennon and Ono at the press conference where they announced the formation of Nutopia. John Lennon and Yoko Ono, gtfy.02293.jpg
Lennon and Ono at the press conference where they announced the formation of Nutopia.

On 2 April 1973 Lennon and Ono introduced the conceptual country of Nutopia at a press conference in New York City. [7]

Lennon and Ono declared themselves ambassadors of the country and sought diplomatic immunity to end Lennon's ongoing immigration troubles as he and Ono tried to remain in the United States. (Ono already had a Resident Alien "green card" through her previous husband, Tony Cox. Lennon had been denied permanent residence status.) Lennon talked about the imaginary country, which would live up to the ideals of his songs "Imagine" and "Mind Games", saying this in the "official" declaration, signed the day before:

We announce the birth of a conceptual country, NUTOPIA.
Citizenship of the country can be obtained by declaration of your awareness of NUTOPIA.
NUTOPIA has no land, no boundaries, no passports, only people.
NUTOPIA has no laws other than cosmic.
All people of NUTOPIA are ambassadors of the country.
As two ambassadors of NUTOPIA, we ask for diplomatic immunity and recognition in the United Nations of our country and its people. [8] [9]

The Nutopian Embassy was originally located at 1 White Street in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan which was the apartment address for some their friends and staff (Ken Dewey, Jon Hendricks, Patty Oldenburg and Helen Seaman) and headquarters of the National Committee for John and Yoko, set up to help their immigration case. [10] Lennon shortly moved this embassy to their Dakota apartment, affixing a gold plaque engraved 'NUTOPIAN EMBASSY' to their kitchen back door. Ono remarked decades later that guests preferred walking into her home through that door instead of the front entrance. [11]

Symbols

The entrance to the Dakota building, where Lennon and Ono posted a Nutopian Embassy sign on the back door of their apartment Dakota2.jpg
The entrance to the Dakota building, where Lennon and Ono posted a Nutopian Embassy sign on the back door of their apartment

The flag of Nutopia has only one colour: white. At the press conference Lennon, waving a white handkerchief, stated, "This is the flag of Nutopia—we surrender, to peace and to love". According to a reporter for The New York Times , Lennon blew his nose on the tissue. [12] Some criticised this association with surrender, but Lennon and Ono defended the association, saying that only through surrender and compromise could peace be achieved.[ citation needed ]

Lennon's album Mind Games (1973) features the " Nutopian International Anthem ", which consists of four seconds of silence. [13]

The hand-drawn Great Seal of Nutopia features a picture of a seal balancing a yin-yang globe on its nose. [14] [15]

Legacy

Lennon's deportation order was overturned in 1975. The following year, he received his green card, certifying his permanent residency.

In 2006, a Nutopia website was created that forwarded to a site about the documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon , distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment. [16] [17]

Finnish singer-songwriter Kari Peitsamo, fan of Lennon's work, released a song called "Nutopia" on his album I'm Down . [18]

In 2009 an exhibit in New York displayed the letter that established Nutopia. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lennon</span> English musician and member of the Beatles (1940–1980)

John Winston Ono Lennon was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He gained worldwide fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. His work included music, writing, drawings and film. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history as the primary songwriters in the Beatles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoko Ono</span> Japanese artist and activist (born 1933)

Yoko Ono is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Lennon</span> British-American composer and musician (born 1975)

Sean Taro Ono Lennon is a British-American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, The Claypool Lennon Delirium and his parents' group Plastic Ono Band. He has released two solo albums: Into the Sun (1998) and Friendly Fire (2006). He has produced numerous albums for various artists, including Black Lips and the Plastic Ono Band.

<i>Mind Games</i> (John Lennon album) 1973 studio album by John Lennon

Mind Games is the fourth solo studio album by English musician John Lennon. It was recorded at Record Plant Studios in New York in summer 1973. The album was released in the US on 29 October 1973 and in the UK on 16 November 1973. It was Lennon's first self-produced recording without help from Phil Spector. Like his previous album, the politically topical and somewhat abrasive Some Time in New York City, Mind Games received mixed reviews upon release. It reached number 13 in the UK and number 9 in the US, where it was certified gold in both territories.

<i>Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins</i> 1968 studio album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins is the first of three experimental albums released by John Lennon and Yoko Ono on Apple Records. It was the result of an all-night session of musical experimentation with Yoko in John's home studio at Kenwood, while his wife, Cynthia Lennon, was on holiday in Greece. Lennon and Ono's 1968 debut recording is known not only for its avant-garde content, but also for its cover, which shows the couple naked. This made the album controversial to both the public and the parent record company EMI, which refused to distribute it. In an attempt to avoid controversy, the LP record was sold in a brown paper bag, and distributed by Track and Tetragrammaton in the United Kingdom and the United States respectively. Two Virgins, while failing to chart in the UK, reached number 124 in the US. The album was followed six months later by Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions.

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The Plastic Ono Band was a rock band formed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 for their collaborative and solo projects based on their 1968 Fluxus conceptual art project of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bed-in</span> Anti-war demonstration by John Lennon and Yoko Ono

A bed-in is a nonviolent protest against wars, initiated by Yoko Ono and her husband John Lennon during a two week period in Amsterdam and Montreal as an experimental test of new ways to promote peace. As the Vietnam War raged in 1969, artist Ono and Lennon held one bed-in protest at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam and one at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. The idea is derived from a "sit-in", in which a group of protesters remain seated in front of or within an establishment until they are evicted, arrested, or their requests are met.

<i>Playground Psychotics</i> 1992 live album by Frank Zappa/The Mothers of Invention

Playground Psychotics is a two-CD live album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. It was originally released in 1992 through his mail order label, Barking Pumpkin, and was re-released in 1995 through Rykodisc. The album features recordings of Zappa and his band, the Mothers of Invention, around the time of the film 200 Motels. The live material on Playground Psychotics is interspersed with excerpts from taped conversations among band members whilst on tour, and the release includes three conceptual sections: A Typical Day on the Road, Part 1, a collage of dialogue which opens the first disc; A Typical Day on the Road, Part 2, which opens the second disc and The True Story of 200 Motels, which appears at the end of disc two. The album also includes a live session with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, an alternate mix of which appears on Lennon and Ono's Some Time in New York City (1972).

<i>Grapefruit</i> (book) 1964 artists book by Yoko Ono

Grapefruit is an artist's book written by Yoko Ono, originally published in 1964. It has become famous as an early example of conceptual art, containing a series of "event scores" that replace the physical work of art – the traditional stock-in-trade of artists – with instructions that an individual may, or may not, wish to enact.

Grapefruit is one of the monuments of conceptual art of the early 1960s. She has a lyrical, poetic dimension that sets her apart from the other conceptual artists. Her approach to art was only made acceptable when [people] like Kosuth and Weiner came in and did virtually the same thing as Yoko, but made them respectable and collectible.

John and Yoko: A Love Story is a 1985 American made-for-television biographical film that chronicles the lives of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, beginning just before they met in 1966 and concluding with Lennon's murder in 1980. The movie was made with the co-operation of Ono, who controlled the song rights. It was directed by Sandor Stern and stars Mark McGann as Lennon and Kim Miyori as Ono.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York City (John Lennon and Yoko Ono song)</span> 1972 song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as Plastic Ono Band

"New York City" is a song written by John Lennon that was first released on Lennon's and Yoko Ono's 1972 Plastic Ono Band album Some Time in New York City.

Nutopia is a fictional country created by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Now or Never (Yoko Ono song)</span> 1972 single by Yoko Ono

"Now or Never" is a song written by Yoko Ono that was first released on her 1973 album Approximately Infinite Universe. It was also the lead single off the album, backed by "Move on Fast." A remixed version of "Move on Fast" was later released as a single and reached #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Listen, the Snow Is Falling</span> 1971 single by Yoko Ono

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Nutopian International Anthem is an instrumental by the English musician and former Beatles guitarist John Lennon from his 1973 album Mind Games.

References

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  2. Bannister, Matthew (2021). ""And the world will be as one" – John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Nutopia" (PDF). Transformations. 35: 89–103.
  3. Swanson, Dave (23 March 2016). "When John Lennon Was Ordered to Leave U.S. by Authorities". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  4. https://twitter.com/yokoono/status/1775161269164843276 [ bare URL ]
  5. https://twitter.com/CitizenNutopia [ bare URL ]
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  7. Toy, Vivian S. "A Brush With a Beatle," New York Times. March 7, 2010.
  8. "John Lennon and Yoko Ono write the Declaration of Nutopia". The Beatles Bible. 1973-04-01. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  9. "We announce the birth of a conceptual country, NUTOPIA". Lennon Twitter account. 2018-04-01. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  10. "Petition to Stop the Deportation of John and Yoko". Abe Books. 2024-04-13. Retrieved 2024-04-13.
  11. "On the Day of the Birth of Nutopia – by Yoko Ono". Yoko Ono official website. 2008-04-01. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  12. Johnston, Laurie (1973-04-03). "Lennon Sees a Wide Impact in Ouster". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  13. Du Noyer, Paul (1999). John Lennon: Whatever Gets You Through the Night. Thunder's Mouth Press. pp. 75–76. ISBN   1560252103.
  14. "Flickr – Photo Sharing!". 27 September 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  15. "Flickr – Photo Sharing!". 27 September 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  16. "NUTOPIA". joinnutopia.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2008. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  17. Lions Gate tunes in Lennon documentary, Daily Variety, 2 September 2005.
  18. Press to go to the song.
  19. Pilkington, Ed (2009-05-12). "John Lennon exhibit opens at the New York annex of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-02-08.