Canadian Artist Uses John Lennon Tooth Fragment in Sculpture

Edmonton sculptor Kirsten Zuk working on her John Lennon DNA sculpture for her Art Show on August 18th in Alberta, Canada.

A fragment of the John Lennon tooth that was auctioned off last fall will become part of a work of art, the Edmonton Sun reports. The tooth's winning bidder gave a small piece of the molar to his sister to use in a clay sculpture she was making in the Beatles legend's likeness.

The tooth, which had been in the family of John Lennon's former housekeeper for years, went to auction last November in Stockport, England. It was purchased for more than $32,000 by Michael Zuk, a dentist from Alberta who says he suggested that his sister use a fragment of the tooth in a work of art.

"This is like a time-capsule. It will contain his DNA," Kirsten Zuk told the Sun. (The tooth was actually too fragile to be DNA-tested before the sale to confirm it belonged to Lennon, but the Omega Auction House said they had no doubts regarding its authenticity.)

Zuk will display her sculpture of Lennon at the Edmonton, Alberta Fringe Festival. She is using the sculpture to promote the charity Smile Train, which helps provide cleft-palate surgery for children living in poverty.

John Lennon's molar sold at auction.Courtesy of Omega Auction House To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Canadian Artist Uses John Lennon Tooth Fragment in Sculpture

Edmonton sculptor Kirsten Zuk working on her John Lennon DNA sculpture for her Art Show on August 18th in Alberta, Canada.

A fragment of the John Lennon tooth that was auctioned off last fall will become part of a work of art, the Edmonton Sun reports. The tooth's winning bidder gave a small piece of the molar to his sister to use in a clay sculpture she was making in the Beatles legend's likeness.

The tooth, which had been in the family of John Lennon's former housekeeper for years, went to auction last November in Stockport, England. It was purchased for more than $32,000 by Michael Zuk, a dentist from Alberta who says he suggested that his sister use a fragment of the tooth in a work of art.

"This is like a time-capsule. It will contain his DNA," Kirsten Zuk told the Sun. (The tooth was actually too fragile to be DNA-tested before the sale to confirm it belonged to Lennon, but the Omega Auction House said they had no doubts regarding its authenticity.)

Zuk will display her sculpture of Lennon at the Edmonton, Alberta Fringe Festival. She is using the sculpture to promote the charity Smile Train, which helps provide cleft-palate surgery for children living in poverty.

John Lennon's molar sold at auction.Courtesy of Omega Auction House To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Pierre Juneau, Influential Canadian Music Figure, Dead at 89

Pierre Juneau speaks to the crowd being inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in Toronto.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tobin Grimshaw

Pierre Juneau, the Canadian politician who helped build his country's music industry by requiring radio stations to broadcast more Canadian music, has died of heart failure at the age of 89.

Juneau was the founding chairman of the Canadian Radio-Television Commission, which was created by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1970 to regulate the country's broadcasting laws. At the time, most Canadian radio stations were owned by American companies that focused on music popular in the American market, almost entirely ignoring songs by Canadian acts.

Photos: Random Notes

Juneau set requirements for a minimum amount of Canadian music broadcasting, with AM stations required to have 30 percent of the songs aired be of Canadian origin. This was a boon to artists such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Anne Murray, Rush and Gordon Lightfoot, and it would later be instrumental in the success of bands like the Tragically Hip, Sloan and the Matthew Good Band, who have enjoyed great popularity in Canada while being fairly obscure in the United States.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

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Read more »

Pierre Juneau, Influential Canadian Music Figure, Dead at 89

Pierre Juneau speaks to the crowd being inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in Toronto.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tobin Grimshaw

Pierre Juneau, the Canadian politician who helped build his country's music industry by requiring radio stations to broadcast more Canadian music, has died of heart failure at the age of 89.

Juneau was the founding chairman of the Canadian Radio-Television Commission, which was created by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1970 to regulate the country's broadcasting laws. At the time, most Canadian radio stations were owned by American companies that focused on music popular in the American market, almost entirely ignoring songs by Canadian acts.

Photos: Random Notes

Juneau set requirements for a minimum amount of Canadian music broadcasting, with AM stations required to have 30 percent of the songs aired be of Canadian origin. This was a boon to artists such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Anne Murray, Rush and Gordon Lightfoot, and it would later be instrumental in the success of bands like the Tragically Hip, Sloan and the Matthew Good Band, who have enjoyed great popularity in Canada while being fairly obscure in the United States.

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

Amazon Music and MP3 Center

Read more »