“The Knotted Gun” by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd

 

 The original sculpture of "The Knotted Gun" also known as “Non Violence” was created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, a friend of John Lennon. Reuterswärd created this piece of art after Lennon was fatally shot in the archway of the Dakota, his residence in New York City on December 8, 1980,.

The perpetrator Mark Chapman a  huge fan of Lennons used a ;38  gun to shoot the music icon four times..

Only six hiours before he died, Lennon had met Lennon who signd a copy of the album Double Fantasy for him.

Lennon was pronouved dead when he arrived at the Roosevelt hospital. He was 40,

Chapman pleeaded guilry to his crime and was sentenced to life in prison,

Mark Chapman, who is said to be deepy religious, was a huge Beatles fan who greatly admired John Lennon. However his idolisatiin turned sour, irked by a famous Lennon  quip, about the Beatles being "more popular than Jesus" claiming it was blasphemy. Having recently has a religious convrsion prior to his deision to kill the musician, religion and belief was the motive behind the murder,

Chapman is reported to have planned to kill Lennon, three months before he carried out his crime.He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Recently, during his 2020 parole hearing Chpman said he kiled Lennon for "self glory" He called his act "despicable" and  said he deserved the death penalty. He also told the parole board at his correctional facility in New Yorj that he was "sorry"

As the news that Lennon  had been  senselessly gunned down in cold blood, rolled out across the world, there was a worldwide outpouring of grief that ensued on an unprecedented scale, that continues to inspire grief and anger to this day,. 

Lennon  is remmbered for his vision of peace and at the time of his death  was one of the most public advocates for peace and non-violence. In many of his songs his lyrics focussed on the vision of a world without violence. 

 

“Imagine all the people

Livin' life in peace

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one "

Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd was deeply moved  by the murder of his  friend and, both as a tribute to John Lennon and as a protest against  other outbursts of unnecessary violence, he produced his most iconic work as he wanted to honor the singer’s vision of a peaceful world, 

“My first sketches in three dimensions were rather rough and simple, but the important thing was that the idea of the knotted barrel was with me from the very start,” he said.

It is a sculpture in bronze, symbolizing a Colt Python 357 Magnum revolver, which pipe points upwards. The gun is cocked, but the knot makes it clear that it will not shoot.In a direct and uncompromisingly manner he managed to turn an object, traditionally used for attack, into a symbol with a universal and clear message of non-violence and peace, and not coincidentally, transformed a symbol of aggreive male sexuality into one of impotence.

Initially, "Non-Violence" was installed at the Strawberry Fields memorial in Central Park, across the street from the home that Lennon shared with Yoko Ono. In 1988, it was acquired and donated by the government of Luxembourg to the United Nations headquarters in New York, outside which it now stands.

According to Kofi Annan, who was the 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations at the time : 

 " The Non-Violence Symbol has not only endowed the United Nations with a cherished work of art; it has enriched the consciousness of humanity with a powerful symbol. It is a symbol that encapsulates, in a few simple curves, the greatest prayer of man: that which asks not for victory, but for peace"

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Inside the U.N. building is a mosaic representing all the nations of the Earth, accompanied by Jesus’ words, “Do unto others what you would have others do unto you.” For many seasoned peace campaigners, this prayer was partly answered when the Arms Trade Treaty became international law on 24 December 2014,

Any state that is a party  to the treaty must obey strict rules on international arms transfers. The Treaty was designed to stop deadly weapons from getting into the hands of people who will use them to commit human rights violations, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.The treaty seeks to regulate the international trade in conventional arms, from small arms to tanks, combat aircraft, and warships. It aims to foster peace and security by putting a stop to the destabilizing flow of arms to conflict regions.

More than 100 countries have joined the Treaty, and there are over 30 more who have signed the treaty which is the first step towards becoming a party to the ATT.

The Treaty can help save lives, but only if it is properly implemented, and if states are held accountable when they breach it.

Yet every year corporate actors still supply large volumes of military equipment to some of the most violent and unstable parts of the world. This equipment is often used unlawfully in the context of armed conflicts and in political unrest marred by serious human rights violations.

The ATT treaty help at least a bit in addressing and halting the uncontrolled flow of arms and ammunition that fuels wars, prolongs conflict, atrocities and human rights abuses. The devastating humanitarian consequences of war fueled in part by the irresponsible export of arms, underline just how urgently this treaty is needed.

Sadly the global arms trading is still on the rise and continues to fuel human rights abuses. This is because some of the largest arms exporters like Russia and the USA have not ratified the treaty. And even countries that have ratified the treaty fail to comply with it, and transfer weapons and munitions to places where they risk being used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law, including possible war crimes.

Civilians typically bear the brunt of modern conflict. Weapons such as artillery, mortars, guided bombs and missiles destroy hospitals, homes, markets and transport systems, pushing survivors into poverty. People’s lives are destroyed. This is the cost of an unregulated arms trade industry.Irresponsible arms trading affects those living inside and outside areas of armed conflict and political instability.

Gun violence remains a daily tragedy that impacts people around the world, the vast majority of whom are not living in conflict zones. the statistics are frightening. Globally twelve billion bullets are produced every year. That is almost enough to kill everyone in the world twice.There are more than 875 million firearms in the world, 75 per cent of them in the hands of civilians. Guns outnumber passenger vehicles by 253 million, or 29 per cent. Each year about eight million new small arms, plus 10 to 15 billion rounds of ammunition are manufactured, enough bullets to shoot every person in the world not once, but twice Every day, thousands of people are killed, injured and forced to flee their homes because of gun violence and armed conflict.

Since 1993, the ever so powerful Knotted Gun sculpture has been the symbol of the non profit Non-Violence Project (NVPF), which was founded by two Swedes :Rold Skolebrand and Jan Helleman. Friends since childhood, they caw the unacceptable increase in violence around the world and decided to do something inspiring and constructive to reach the hearts of the next generation. 

They embarked on a journey that took them deep into the roots of violent behaviour, A journey  that made them realise that education is the only tool that works. The projects mission is to inspire, motivate, and engage young people in understanding how to solve conflicts without resorting to violence.

It holds violence prevention and nonviolence education programs for schools and sports clubs around the world.

Its logo is Reuterswärd's sculpture, It has educated eight million students, teachers, and sports coaches with programs covering three main subjects: conflict management, self-esteem building, and nonviolence.

Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and Yoko Ono are, among others, ambassadors of the Non-Violence Project.

Reuterswärd wrote later that humor was the finest instrument to bring people together. While making his peace symbol, he thought of adding a touch of humor to make his “weapon” symbolically ridiculous and completely out of orderl

Until his death from pneumonia, age 81, in May 2016, he was one of Sweden's most famous artists, as well as a respected author. He studied with Fernand Léger in Paris 1951 and was a professor of painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm between 1965 and 1969. In 1986 he was awarded the Prince Eugen Medal for painting, 

Since his iconic bronze sculpture exhibited in front of the United Nations, it has been adopted by various causes around the world.and replicas have been placed in more than 30 strategic locations around the world: Here  a list of a number of them.

• Unites States (Original) – New York City – Headquarters of the United Nations
• Luxembourg – Kirchberg – Parc Central
• China – Beijing -Chaoyang Park
• Germany- Berlin – at the parc of the federal chancellery. It was unveiled in 2005 by chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who received it from Reuterswärd in recognition of his Iraq policy.
• France – Caen Mémorial de Caen, a world war II museum. Unveiled in 2005.
• Switzerland – Lausanne – Olympic Museum
• Mexico – Mexico City – Mexipuerto Shopping Mall and 683 Calle Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca Polanco
• India – Chennai – Perambur, ICF
• Georgia – Rukhi – Senaki, Leselidze Highway
• Lebanon – Beirut – Seafront
• Northern Ireland – Belfast Girdwood Community Hub 
• in Liverpool/UK, in Cavern Walks shopping centre, next door to the original site of the famous Cavern Club in Mathew Street where the Beatles played in their early days together. It was unveiled in 2000 by Dr Michael Nobel, then head of the Nobel family society and chairman of the Non-Violence Foundation
•  Cape Town/South Africa -at the entrance to the Victoria and Alfred waterfront. It was unveiled in 1999 when the government announced its stringent new gun control legislation.
• In Stockholm/Sweden (1995 – unveiled by HRH Princess Victoria of Sweden in the middle of Sergelgatan
•  In Göteborg/Sweden (1997 – Kungsportsavenyn & Engelbrektsgatan

In this day and age when things turn  so quickly into violence, as we are witnesing conflicts currently causing chaos and destruction across the world, the message Reuterswärd's  sculpture is bearing is more important and poignant than ever.

To quote Mahatma Ghandi : 

 " Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man. Destruction is not the law of the humans. Man lives freely by his readiness to die, if need be, at the hands of his brother, never by killing him. Every murder or other injury, no matter for what cause, committed or inflicted on another is a crime against humanity." 

Three years ago yesterday, firty-one people were killed by a single gunman during Friday prayers in Christchurch, New Zealand. And every day for these past weeks our attention has turned to the ongoing killing in Ukraine, as Russia seems intent on destroying a people unwilling to be subjugated.

The suffering in Ukraine and other places like Gaza and Yemen is immense.

Our attention must remain in all thse places, and on all those subject to the threat and violence of others. Even in thse dark hours we can win this struggle, indeed we must. Let us pray for all those who are touched by gun violence, hearts broken by loss and for all the lives cut short. Allow peace to flood our minds and hope that all the violence in the world can be left behind.