Love – Robert Indiana, Essay Example

Introduction

Robert Indiana created the idea for the “LOVE” sculptor in 1958 when developing a series of poems. The idea came at a time when the USA was heavily involved with the Vietnam War and the piece ‘LOVE’ was viewed as a symbol of peace. The sculpture has been highly acclaimed by the Pop Art movement world-wide.  The Artist Robert Indiana was born in New Castle Indiana in 1928. He was educated in both Europe and the USA.  He eventually took up residence in New York where he gained a reputation for building works of art based upon words and symbology. The paper examines the art, description and criticism of Robert Indiana’s work and whether this appeals to modern society?

He was a very versatile individual and in addition to sculptor and art he was involved with developing poems, silk screens and posters.  The existing sculptor resides in “the Civic Centre Mall between Scottsdale Centre for the Arts and the Civic Library Centre”. (Scottsdale Cultural Council). His art has been exhibited at numerous museums including that of Guggenheim Museum (NY), Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Museum of Modern Art NY and the Smithsonian in Washington DC, to name but a few.  The ‘LOVE’ image has been captured and copied in virtually all aspects of life in the US and overseas including such items as rings, rugs, mirrors, carpets etc.  It has become one of the most talked about and recognized pieces of art in the 20^th Century. “With giant sculptures in many major cities, Robert Indiana is one of the first artists many think of when asked to define “pop” art.” (Sweet).

The model of Love has been made into many other different artefacts including that of rugs and mats but equally it has been designed and created as an impressive mirror as produced by Seletti and illustrated here. It was in 1962 that Indiana enjoyed his first New York solo exhibition at the Stable Gallery. Most of his sculpture works have been created around the theme of dramatic emphasises icon images with ‘LOVE’ being the most famous. He had also used other words like EAT and HUG but perhaps none being as poignant as the word LOVE that was conveyed as a peace message at the time of the Vietnam War. The LOVE piece has been used commercially  an Christmas Cards, an eight cent coin, postage stamps and a Hebrew version called AHAVA(LOVE) made out of Corten Steel and erected in the museum Art Garden in Jerusalem. In 2008 Indiana stepped into the political arena and the Obama presidential election campaign. On this occasion he used the word HOPE. A steel sculpture of this iconic word being erected outside of the Pepsi Centre in Denver Colorado in 2008 (Absolute Astronomy).

In the painting arena, Indiana painted the basketball court of the Milwaukee Bucks. In addition he created another sculpture called Aluminum placed in the lobby of the building Taipei 101 [1]. The icon of HOPE was widely adopted by the Obama Presidential Campaign marketing team and they sold and distributed a wide range of commercial goods with the words HOPE emblazoned on them. Indiana referred to HOPE as LOVE’s close relative. In more recent times Indiana produced a series of paintings that depicted the aftermath of 9/11 and in 2004 these were exhibited in New York under the banner of ‘Peace Paintings’. Indiana also had a brief fling with the Movies and was featured in an Andy Warhol short feature film called EAT where Indiana was filmed eating a Mushroom.  It appears that none of Indiana’s work borders on the conventional but often makes a bold statement for the observer to interpret and enjoy.

The sculptor piece love

One of the most striking features is that of Indiana’s use of colours the striking use of Red and Blue on a black plinth brings a robust sculpture to the dramatic attention of any passing observer. The L looks like a strong steel girder and gives the impression of strength, power and eternity.  The tilted ovoid O shape provides a softer feeling of serenity and peace. A very tactile icon that sharply contrasts to the L which it is sensed to be pushing away from. The V and the O have been somewhat connected in a phallic sense. The symbolism being illustrated in both colours. The spear pointing up to the Ovoid in Red and the inner spear in blue pointing down from the inner ovoid in blue. A strong sexual connotation and symbolic of the word LOVE.  This again emphasised on the inner mantle of the blue within the word E. The letter E is another strong foundation symbol giving the word substance and feeling of eternity.

Pro’s of Sculptor

• Highly symbolic and conveys the artists message
• Visually appealing modern art structure
• The design concept lends itself to many commercial applications
• The design has been widely adopted in the commercial art world
• The concept has been adopted for other commercial applications e.g. HOPE
• The use of language in art has been widely adopted over the ages and as such this has tend to make works of art enduring by nature
• Excellent use of dramatic colours provide a sense of drama and eye catching attention
• Provides a brand image for the artist’s work

Con’sof Sculptor

• Some people may consider this type of art form meaningless
• Some may view it as western style democracy
• Some may not like the inference of the artists message to the Vietnam War
• Modern Art does not appeal to all people.(Susan Elizabeth Ryan)

The artists message

In the 1960’s the USA was heavily involved in the Vietnam War and there were a large number of people who were considered to be anti-establishment and did not believe in this war. It was widely held that Robert Indiana was heartbroken over the tragedy of Vietnam and the amount of young Americans being killed or maimed in that war.  His message in LOVE was one of make peace not war.  Similarly in the message HOPE again Indiana was reaching out to the emotions and feelings of the people. After the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and a worsening US economy the people felt a great sense of despair about America and its place in the world.  An incoming Presidential Candidate ‘Obama’ signified a new sense of HOPE for the people. A British Comedian (John Cleese) once was quoted as saying “I can cope with the despair it’s the loss of hope that kills me”. [Quote from the film Clockwise].  Obama signified a sense of renewed hope for the nation after a stagnant Bush administration.

“He used the same design to create a red, white, and blue sculpture of HOPE to benefit the campaign. Indiana called HOPE, “a brother to LOVE, or a sister, or a very close family member.” It was unveiled outside the Democratic National Convention in Denver in 2008” (Wilde).

The Waddington Gallery in London produced an exhibition of Robert Indiana between the period 23^rd September – 23^rd October 2004 and the first solo exhibition bringing together a collection of Robert Indiana’s works for public display. The work ranged from the early part of his career to that of his most recent works. Illustrated below is a sample of some of the key exhibits shown.

The Ahab  1962

The piece resembles a throne chair with seats for the King and Queen. Note the facial expression in the Queen block the eyes and the mouth in the shape of a heart.. The backs of the throne also symbolise the faces of the monarchs and a crown sits atop each of the heads. A simple piece but plays on the imagination and has hidden depths. I particularly like this piece for the layered representations and the use of the word symbols that represent similarities to the King and Queen in a deck of cards

Four diamond  peace (red)

Another reference to Indiana’s concepts on peace and the nuclear age. Ban the Bomb symbols that demand we stand up and proclaim our rights for peace in the world. Don’t just ask for it but WE DEMAND IT!! Is the message conveyed here.

THE FOUR SIXES

A useful play on words with the number sixes that can equally be interpreted as nines. Yellow and Black provide sharp contrasts and often a sign of danger e.g. wasps, hornets etc.

A difficult piece to interpret and may just be of purely artistic value with no specific message being conveyed by the artist

Art

Useful to see the colours of Blue and Red being used again, similar to that of the original LOVE sculptor. No real significance other than artistic design that seems appealing to the eye.

Love

Another of the famous LOVE representations accept as opposed to metal this one has been crafted in Marble.

Source for Waddington Gallery Images :(Waddington Galleries)

The interesting thing about Robert Indiana’s works is that they have a certain timeless quality about them. They are as relevant today as they will probably be in a 100 or 200 years from now. The messages of peace, hope and love are universal qualities that will have meaning in both our history and our future.

Works Cited

Absolute Astronomy. Roberty Indiana. 2010. 22 10 2010 <http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Robert_Indiana>.

Scottsdale Cultural Council. Scottsdale Public Art. 2004. 21 10 2010 <http://www.scottsdalepublicart.org/collection/love.php>.

Susan Elizabeth Ryan, Robert Indiana. Robert Indiana: figures of speech. Yale University: Yale University Press, 2000.

Sweet, Laura I. Love and heart of design. 6 2 2008. 21 10 2010 <http://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com/2008/02/love-heart-of-design-literally-robert.html>.

Waddington Galleries. Waddington Gallery London. 2010. 21 10 2010 <http://www.waddington-galleries.com/exhibition/indiana-2004/2/B37032/>.

Wilde, Megan. Masterpieces: Robert Indiana’s LOVE . 24 7 2010. 21 10 2010 <http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/61213>.

[1]A famous skyscraper in the Financial District of Taipei.