Robert Indiana – Pop Art Rebel
Robert Indiana – LOVE
“Pop art is the American Dream, optimistic, generous, and naive!” ~ Robert Indiana
Robert Indiana was an American artist associated with the Pop Art movement. Born Robert Clark in New Castle, Indiana in 1928, his adopted family relocated to Indianapolis, where he graduated from Arsenal Technical High School as valedictorian. He spent three years in the U.S. Air Force and then studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the renowned Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, as well as Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art before settling in New York City in 1954. He met his partner and mentor, the celebrated, hard-edge abstract painter, Ellsworth Kelly. Deeply influenced by Kelly’s clean-cut, color combinations, he began making art with distinctive imagery drawing on commercial art approaches blended with existentialism, that gradually moved toward what Indiana calls “word paintings” – his most famous example being the LOVE series begun in 1965. The red, green and blue painting featuring 4 letters paired and stacked, punctuated by the brilliant, tilted ‘O’ was chosen by the Museum of Modern Art for their 1965 Christmas card and the rest is history. Indiana’s works are bold and energetic. His best known examples include short words like EAT, DIE, HUG, ERR, HOPE, AMOR and LOVE which he used to create a body of work that appears inviting in tone, with its playful presence inspired by roadside signage or other public spaces.
“Robert Indiana has made of basic American iconography the most subtle and evocative resonance of color his time has seen. He has used the figure of language and number to echo endlessly the paradigms of human emotions and made LOVE an international sign of transcendent power. He is the most deftly Emersonian of our painters, the consummate signer of our human declaration.” ~ Robert Creeley, poet and collaborator
Robert Indiana burst onto the art scene in the 1960s with his signature pop art style. His bold, vibrant paintings, assemblage art and sculptures quickly won him critical acclaim and a loyal following. His career soared after influential museum director and art historian Alfred H. Barr, Jr bought The American Dream, l for the Museum of Modern Art. Despite his success, Indiana was always a rebel at heart, pushing the boundaries of traditional art forms and challenging authority. Exploring the power of language and color, Robert Indiana, remains one of the most iconic American artists of the 20th century. Best known for his work with Pop Art, he created pieces that were both visually striking and thought-provoking.
Fully immersed in the New York Art scene, he briefly shared his studio with the phenomenal painter, Cy Twombly and continued to engage and collaborate with his fellow artists. In 1963, the l