Sean Lennon is a multi-dimensional artist and spoke to SheKnows about paving a path all his own.
Sean Lennon has been emerging as his own cultural icon. He was born of the richest creative journey as the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
His ingenuity, culled from parental stimuli spanning the landscape of his growth, stems from the seeds of artistic brilliance. As a product of their conservatory of love, the Lennon radiance is impossible to escape.
As for the political, the younger Lennon’s view is congruent with his father’s yet his hopes for its effect are slightly varied. He sees his art as that which goes beyond the headline ravaged whims of the world. Instead, Lennon’s creations mirror the best of his father’s, works that soften the stressors of the world to the tranquil, pleasing and serene.
SheKnows: I wanted to ask first, your most recent “Friendly Fire” project is a multi-layered endeavor, how was the cinematic and musical experience for you as an artist?
Sean Lennon: Well, for me, the idea of using media for expressing yourself artistically is kind of something I learned from my mother and my father. So for me, I think growing up wanting to be an artist, I always imagined myself sort of crossing over or mixing media and so it was a natural evolution for me to try to express in a filmic way or in a visual way. It just kind of seems like a natural sort of progression for me in terms of what I’m trying to do as an artist.
SheKnows: I would think that would add another layer to the artistic professional enjoyment for you?
Sean Lennon: All of it is really…I wouldn’t say the purpose of making art is to enjoy it necessarily. For me, (laughs) it happens to be the thing I enjoy the most. The purpose…I don’t even know what the purpose of art is really, I just know that is something that makes me feel satisfied in a way that other things don’t. That’s all I know, that’s why I like to write songs and films or draw. I just like to make things and somehow I find it gives me a feeling of satisfaction that I can’t find in other areas of my life.
SheKnows: If someone approached you with the right film or the right script, would it ever be something you would want to do on its own?
Sean Lennon: Yeah, sure. You mean as an actor or director?
SheKnows: Well, as a director, the creative force behind it?
Sean Lennon: Yes, definitely.
SheKnows: Growing up there are any number of avenues that you could have gone down, what were your feelings when you sat down to record the first record in 1998 (“Following Into the Sun”) about heading into the world of music?
Sean Lennon: I don’t know. I think I was really unprepared psychologically. I was playing music, as a musician, for years at that point already. That record was an organic, natural extension of my life at that point. I didn’t anticipate the degree that certain people would have an issue with me doing music in the way in which I did music. It was shocking to me. I was naive, very young and I assumed that everyone would understand me. It’s not like a chose to play music necessarily, because I already was, it was more that I was unprepared for the public aspect of it all.
SheKnows: Now that’s a natural position that most musicians report experiencing, but do you think a part of it is also frankly, because of your last name?
Sean Lennon: I think, yeah, I think I have a specific set of, I have a specific sort of negative energies to deal with that might be specific to me, but it definitely something that all artists have to deal with at one point or another. But I think for me, it’s just maybe more specific.
Next up, Sean talks about how his father John would view the world today
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