See Hear Yoko: A Lavish Visual Biography―300+ Classic Photographs of an Artist, Mother, and Peace Activist

by Bob Gruen, Jody Denberg

See Hear Yoko captures the rich complexity of Yoko Ono—woman, artist, activist, wife and mother—from her days with John Lennon through the present, with intimate portraits by the legendary rock-and-roll photographer Bob Gruen, and words by Ono herself, edited from conversations with Jody Denberg, rock radio’s “Voice of Austin, Texas.” Conceived expressly for Yoko Ono as a gift between friends on the occasion of her eightieth birthday, and published at her personal request, See Hear Yoko is legendary rock-and-roll photographer Bob Gruen’s tribute to an icon of contemporary American cultural history, from her days with John Lennon up through the present. Gruen, who served as personal photographer to Lennon and Ono during their years in New York City, has collaborated with his friend, Austin rock radio mainstay Jody Denberg, who edited twenty-five years of interviews with Yoko for the book’s text. In this breathtaking volume, Gruen has selected more than two-hundred classic color and black-and-white photographs that intimately illuminate the life of Yoko Ono at the height of her fame as a woman, wife, mother and avant-garde artist (who keeps creating, she says, because “That’s who I am.”) Yoko’s role as peace activist and artist underscores the enduring legacy of the era of rock-and-roll. See Hear Yoko reveals a modern woman in love, in ascension, in grief, in joy and in peace. Lavish and beautiful, mirroring the deeply personal design of the original volume given to Yoko herself, See Hear Yoko brings into focus an extraordinary woman and one of the most memorable periods in modern history. 

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Art

192 pages, Hardcover

First published February 10, 2015

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this really to check out the Libby app with something I could read quickly (photographs principally).

I have a passing interest in Lennon & Yoko hence the 3*. Guess the would be a fascinating book to a true fan.

[Aaron Badgley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful photos, some I have never seen, and some great text culled from interviews with Yoko.
Brilliant book.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely lovely book.

[Neph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Approaching Yoko Ono's 80th birthday, Austin, TX radio linchpin Jody Denberg tapped rock photographer Bob Gruen with a novel gift idea. As Ono's personal lensman for 40-plus years, Gruen selected over 300 photographs he'd snapped, and Denberg chose quotes from his past interviews with her. Moved, Ono then urged the collaborators to publish their collection. Her handwritten thank-you note opens the hardcover, whose first glossies date back to 1971. The book's front half captures striking intimacy between the activist and her late husband, John Lennon, as accompanying text adds insight without detracting from compelling snapshots. A portrait of the couple with their newborn son, Sean, depicts the pair robe-clad and widely smiling; Gruen was the first to photograph the baby in the family's New York City home. A visible shift occurs post 1980, as shots no longer show Lennon at his wife's side. Vacationing with Sean in Bermuda, recording 1985 LP Starpeace, and forging various art shows, Ono comes alive in the remarkably intimate See Hear Yoko, which presents its subject in her myriad roles: muse, widow, mother, artist, and survivor. "Many different lives I had," she says on the book's final page. "Nine lives, maybe."

http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/...

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book, some really great photos.