Artspeak Radio with May Pang & Christopher Leitch

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes writer/art historian/curator, photographer May Pang and artist/activist Christopher Leitch.

MAY PANG, JOHN LENNON’S LOVER DURING HIS “LOST WEEKEND” ERA TO SHOWCASE HER CANDID PHOTOS OF LENNON AT A SPECIAL TWO-DAY FREE EXHIBITION AT LEAWOOD FINE ART IN LEAWOOD, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 & WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20; ALL WORKS WILL AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE
EXHIBITION ENTITLED “THE LOST WEEKEND: THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF MAY PANG” COINCIDES WITH THE UPCOMING DIGITAL RELEASE OF THE FEATURE FILM DOCUMENTARY ON LENNON AND PANG “THE LOST WEEKEND: A LOVE STORY” MAY PANG TO APPEAR AT SHOW TO MEET AND GREET CUSTOMERS

Few people knew John Lennon as intimately as May Pang. Pang was Lennon’s lover during the infamous “Lost Weekend” which lasted 18 months during late 1973 through 1975. During this highly creative time for Lennon, Pang took candid photos of Lennon in a comfortable, relaxed environment. A collection of these private photographs will be on display and available for purchase at Leawood Fine Art in the Camelot Court Shopping Center, 11709 Roe Avenue, Leawood, KS on Tuesday, September 19 & Wednesday, September 20. Admission to the exhibit is free to the public and all works are available to purchase. See John as May saw him!

May Pang will be in attendance at Leawood Fine Art, meeting customers and telling stories behind these amazing limited-edition photographs of John Lennon.
During the Lost Weekend, with May’s help, Lennon had his most artistically and commercially productive period post-Beatles—with the albums “Mind Games”, “Walls and Bridges”, which included his only #1 Hit Single “Whatever Gets You Through the Night”, “Rock and Roll” and collaboration with Rock legends Elton John, David Bowie, Harry Nilsson, Mick Jagger, and Ringo among others. Also, on that album Pang can be heard on the song “#9 Dream” where she whispers John’s name in the song. Another song on the album “Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)” was written about Pang.

Pang also encouraged Lennon to reconnect with his family and his friends, which ultimately led to a reunion with Paul McCartney and a memorable jam session between the two Beatles. Pang also arranged for Julian Lennon to visit his father for the first time in almost three years. One of Pang’s photographs of Julian Lennon graces the cover of Julian’s latest album entitled “Jude.”
Lennon also went into the studio with friend Harry Nilsson during this time and produced his album “Pussy Cats.” It was during this time that Pang rented a house in Santa Monica and moved in with Lennon and fellow partiers Ringo Starr, Keith Moon (The Who) and Harry Nilsson. Several photos from this time also appear in the exhibition. Other highlights of the exhibition include the only photograph that exists of John Lennon signing the contract to dissolve the Beatles as well as the last known photograph of John Lennon and Paul McCartney together from March 29, 1974. Both photographs have never been available to the public until now.

Pang has also published three books on her times with Lennon including Loving John, John Lennon – The Lost Weekend and Instamatic Karma featuring photos from her private archives.
“The Lost Weekend – The Photography of May Pang” coincides with the upcoming digital release of the feature film documentary “The Lost Weekend : A Love Story” which will be released on October 13th. Watch the film’s trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=xrQHqTB3qjo

“The Lost Weekend – The Photography of May Pang” exhibition will provide fans a rare opportunity to see John Lennon in a new light, through the lens of someone who knew him intimately during one of the most creative periods of his life. Pang’s photos will be on display and available to purchase for two days only. Check out the show and meet May Pang at Leawood Fine Art in the Camelot Court Shopping Center, 11709 Roe Avenue, Leawood, KS, Tuesday, September 19 & Wednesday, September 20, 2023.

WHO: May Pang, John Lennon’s lover and companion during the infamous “Lost Weekend” which took place from late 1973 through 1975.
WHAT: A photographic exhibition and sale entitled “The Lost Weekend – The Photography of May Pang” featuring candid photos of John Lennon and friends coinciding with the upcoming digital release of the feature film documentary on May Pang and John Lennon’s relationship “The Lost Weekend – A Love Story.”
WHEN: Tuesday, September 19 & Wednesday, September 20 – 3:00 pm – 8:00 pm
WHERE: Leawood Fine Art (in the Camelot Court Shopping Center), 11709 Roe Avenue, Leawood, KS 66211 (913) 338-4999 www.leawoodfineart.com

CHRISTOPHER LEITCH- I am a visual artist working with unpredictable methods and various media. The content and images of my works are determined by chance occurrences and random processes, and I never know what anything’s going to look like. This uncertainty is liberating and invigorating.
I live and work near Kansas City, Missouri. My works have been widely exhibited and toured: “Explicit Content” with the cu46 project; “Lost Words” at Northwind Art, Port Townsend, WA; “Ink & Clay 45” at the Kellog University Art Gallery,California Polytechnic Pomona; “Fiber as Metaphor” at Gallery Fritz, Santa Fe; “word” at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art; “True Stories” at Johnson County Community College Gallery of Art; “Men of the Cloth”, curated by poet Stephen Beal at the Loveland Museum in Loveland, Colorado (with catalogue); the Boston Society for Arts and Crafts; the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, Asheville, North Carolina; Plymouth State College, NH; the Kansas City Jewish Museum; the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center; McAlester College Gallery of Art; Jan Weiner Gallery; and many others. I have designed costumes for private collections and public productions including The Paul Mesner Puppets’ presentations of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado and Mark Twain’s very naughty 1601.
Publications featuring reviews and discussions of my work include: The Hand magazine, issue #25; Ley Lines, H. L. Hix, curator, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Canada; Drawing from Life, Jennifer New, ed. The Princeton Architectural Press; New Art Examiner; Art in America; Fashion Theory; American Craft; the International Textile Design Directory. I have written for ArtPapers Atlanta, New Art Examiner and Ceramics: Art and Perception.
I was lead author of “LGBTQ Welcoming Guidelines for Museums: developing a resource for the museum field” in Museums and Social Issues, and a contributing author with Renae Youngs to companion article“Diversity in Museum Hiring” Museum Magazine. I have presented papers for the American Alliance of Museums, Alliance of Midwest Museums, the Hall Center for the Humanities and the Canadian Museums Association.
I served as Assistant Dean at Kansas City Art Institute, as a consulting curator with the Center for Creative Studies, University of Missouri-Kansas City, and as director of Kansas City Museum. I have been a visiting lecturer and instructor at many schools across the US.
I earned an MA in Visual Arts from Goddard College in Vermont and my BFA from Kansas City Art Institute. I attended the University of Oklahoma for three years.
www.christopherleitchstudio.net

Share This Episode