Show Inspired by Artist of Notes

--An exhibition of artwork inspired by former Beatle John Lennon was unveiled at the Frankel Gallery in Palm Beach, Fla., by his widow, Yoko Ono, who called the singer, songwriter, poet and artist a “Renaissance man.” The 60 pieces in the collection were all based on drawings and lithographs that Lennon completed before he was shot to death in 1980. Lennon, who studied at the Liverpool Art Institute in the 1950s, painted and sketched with pen and ink in hotel rooms, airplanes and other places his music took him. The works by various craftsmen include tapestries, crystal etchings and a “kinetic neon sculpture.” Gallery owner Kenneth Frankel said of the exhibition: “I think it is uniquely John Lennon. It reflects the same sensitivity and humor I think is in his music.” Also shown are copies of Lennon’s erotic sketches of his and Ono’s “bed-in” for world peace similar to those seized by Scotland Yard at a London gallery in 1971. “The entire show was confiscated and destroyed,” Frankel said. “In ‘71, times were a little different.”

--The Moab, Utah, Chamber of Commerce thinks its dump is anything but. In fact, it modestly declared the landfill, situated between the red-rock formations of the Canyonlands and the Arches national parks, the world’s most scenic, and challenged other communities proud of their dumps to come forward. About 15 communities responded, and photos of the dumps were sent to a landfill operator in Maine for judging. The winner? Kodiak, Alaska, which, according to retired Moab Chamber President Joe Kingsley, buried the competition. Photographer Frank Byrt captured the landfill’s essence, Kingsley said, and provided a vivid description of the dump: “Encircled by Sitka spruce trees and offering a glimpse of Monashka Bay, visitors find the midden an idyllic spot to observe Kodiak’s abundant wildlife.” Sharing the title of most scenic dump entitles Kodiak residents to “sister-city scavenging privileges,” Kingsley said.

--When Gladys Perham of Rutland, Vt., wrote to federal officials with questions about her Medicare billing for a recent operation, she got her answer all right--106 of them. The unsigned letters all came from Medicare’s regional office in Biddeford, Me. She opened eight of them, and they all contained different responses.

--Descendants of the original signers of the U.S. Constitution who are interested in taking part in the document’s bicentennial celebration in Philadelphia in September should write to We The People 200 Inc., P.O. Box 54317, Philadelphia, Pa., 19105. The activities were described in an earlier Newsmakers column but no address was available.