In 1969, John and Yoko famously staged two “Bed-Ins for Peace”—one in Amsterdam and one in Montreal—as an unconventional protest against the Vietnam War. Instead of marching in the streets, they invited the media into their hotel room, where they stayed in bed for a week, discussing peace and love with reporters from around the world. The goal was to transform their celebrity into a platform for nonviolent resistance. This protest, at once absurd and deeply sincere, turned their relationship into a work of performance art. They used their bodies, their love, and their vulnerability as symbols of resistance.

This legacy of bodily protest is directly echoed in Leibovitz’s photograph. The image is, in many ways, a spiritual continuation of the Bed-Ins. Lennon’s nakedness is not just a symbol of vulnerability; it is a form of surrender and exposure. He is not sexualized, but rather childlike, stripped of ego. Yoko’s stillness and strength—fully clothed, eyes wide, and lips closed—positions her as the steady presence in their shared life and activism. The reversal of traditional gender presentation is key: the man is the one who clings, who is bare, while the woman holds space and control. In this way, the image is not only a portrait of love, but of feminist inversion, spiritual trust, and mutual dependence, ideas that had long been central to their message.

Lennon, John, and Yoko Ono. Bed Peace. Directed by Yoko Ono, 1969.
Available via YouTube, uploaded by Yoko Ono, 20 Aug. 2008,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRjjiO…. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.

“Bed-Ins for Peace.” The Beatles Bible, 26 Mar. 2008,
www.beatlesbible.com/1969/03/2…. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.

Ono, Yoko. Imagine Peace. www.imaginepeace.com,
imaginepeace.com/about-john. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.

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by Naisha Tandon

In 1973, Annie Leibovitz became the chief photographer for Rolling Stone magazine at the young age of 23. This appointment marked the beginning of a career that would forever shift the way celebrities were photographed. At a time when celebrity portraits were often rigid and carefully controlled, Leibovitz brought a new intimacy and narrative depth to her subjects. She emphasized storytelling and emotional resonance over glamour, often working to capture the authentic human behind the public image. Her photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1980, taken for Rolling Stone, demonstrates this ethos. By that point, Leibovitz had already built a reputation for pushing boundaries—her photos often stripped away ego and exposed vulnerability. She didn't just photograph celebrities; she created visual narratives that told their personal truths.

This artistic identity shaped the creation of John and Yoko, New York. Leibovitz insisted that both John and Yoko be present in the image, challenging initial requests for a Lennon-only cover. This decision reflected her understanding that their love and political legacy were inseparable. The photo that emerged—of Lennon curled against Yoko, naked and clinging, while she remains clothed and composed—was the result of trust between artist and subject. Her vision, honed during years of capturing icons in moments of rawness, made it possible for this image to exist. It wasn’t just a photo shoot; it was a visual confession captured in real time.

• Runtagh, Jordan. “The Story Behind Annie Leibovitz’s Photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.” Rolling Stone, 8 Dec. 2020.
  www.rollingstone.com/music/mus…. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.

• Leibovitz, Annie. John and Yoko, New York. 1980. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
  emuseum.mfah.org/objects/64828…. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.

• Leibovitz, Annie. At Work. Random House, 2008.

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by Naisha Tandon

Only hours after the photograph was taken, John Lennon was shot and killed outside The Dakota, the New York apartment he shared with Yoko Ono. His murder at the age of 40 sent shockwaves through the world. Lennon was not only a music legend but also a peace activist, cultural provocateur, and symbol of an era that deeply believed in the power of love and protest. This photograph became, unintentionally, his final portrait. It froze his last hours on earth in an image that is both heartbreakingly intimate and historically weighty.

Lennon’s assassination transforms this image from an evocative portrait to a cultural relic. The contrast between the tenderness of the embrace and the violence that followed gives the photograph a haunting afterlife. When Rolling Stone published it on the January 22, 1981, cover, they did so without text, allowing the image to speak for itself. The embrace—Lennon’s naked, fetal-like pose, lips slightly parted, eyes closed as he presses into Yoko’s chest—suddenly read like a goodbye. Yoko, clothed in black and staring calmly at the camera, becomes not only his lover but also his protector, his anchor, and now his mourner. The photo captured their dynamic with devastating precision. In that moment, we see Lennon seeking safety in Yoko, a man who once said, “She’s the most famous unknown artist in the world—and everyone knows her name.”

Runtagh, Jordan. “The Story Behind Annie Leibovitz’s Photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.” Rolling Stone, 8 Dec. 2020.
www.rollingstone.com/music/mus…. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.

Associated Places

by Naisha Tandon