Introduction
On June 19, 1971, Jonas Mekas joined Yoko Ono, John Lennon, Andy Warhol, and a few other friends at George Maciunas's New York studio on Wooster Street. At the invitation of the Fluxus founder, they gathered to share dumplings. The meal quickly turned into a performance, where improvised drawings, Polaroids, and spontaneous readings blended into a moment of creative freedom. Jonas Mekas's eye—and his camera—were there to capture it all. A filmmaker of the everyday and a poet of the moment, he caught the fleeting grace of this reunion of accomplices. We present here seven Polaroids by the Lithuanian director, enhanced with drawings by Yoko Ono and John Lennon on the back. These images are accompanied by a page from his diary and a film by Jonas Mekas with selected stills reproduced here like fragments of a memory in motion.
June 19, 1971
George had one of his dumpling parties yesterday. John and Yoko, Andy came, and my brother. We all tried to eat those dumplings but they were, in my opinion, the worst dumplings I ever ate-or rather, tried to eat. George likes everything artificial, he makes his dumplings from prepared dough.
Same as when he drinks milk made only from milk powder, and makes his scrambled eggs only from egg powder. But George likes his dumplings and stuffs himself belly-full. So we fool around, everybody has a good time, and that includes George's dog. George complains that he got his dog to protect him from intruders, but the stupid dog, he says, likes everybody. But he likes his dog anyway. About protection, when George says protection he means police and building inspectors. They are after him for organizing artists' co-operatives. They are illegal, they say. George says several times they tried to break through his door. So now he has sharp knives covering his 80 Wooster Street basement door. In addition to that, he cut a hole in the ceiling leading to the Cinematheque theater floor, a hole large enough to push his thin body through, but no cops, who are known for their bulkiness, would ever pass through. In short, he had devised an additional escape route. Once he is up in the Cinematheque he can just walk out while the cops are still trying to break his door. He finds it all very funny.
Credit
Jonas Mekas, Dumpling Party polaroids, 1971
Polaroid pictures with drawings of John Lennon & Yoko Ono
Copyright Jonas Mekas
Courtesy of Sebastian Mekas and the Estate of Jonas Mekas
Courtesy of APALAZZOGALLERY