Robert Indiana (New Castle 1928 - Vinalhaven 2018) Book of Love Signed and dated '96 lower right Numbered 98/200 lower left Screenprint, 60.8 x 50.6 cm Note: Robert Indiana original name Robert Clark was an American painter, sculptor and printmaker who is frequently associated with Pop Art – though he has said he preferred calling himself a ‘sign painter’. In 1958 he changed his last name to ‘Indiana’, assuming what he called his ‘nom de brush’ and at the same time acknowledging his roots in the American Midwest. Critical of consumer tendencies and political excesses in American culture, Indiana’s images combined stencilled text and numbers and hard-edged bright colour fields into compelling signs. In 1961 Indiana began a series of paintings with a bold sense of graphic design and an affinity for symmetry and the dynamics of American advertising. Through his exploration in text art, Indiana created his first LOVE for personal Christmas cards in 1964. Indiana’s Pop icon was first realized as a painting in 1966, other media followed promptly. The colour scheme of the LOVE design was a tribute to his departed father: the red and green were meant to recall the sign of the Phillips 66 where his father worked, while the blue represents the sky of his home state. LOVE was turned into a special Valentine’s Day stamp in 1973, becoming one of the best-selling stamps of all time.
Robert Indiana (New Castle 1928 - Vinalhaven 2018) Book of Love Signed and dated '96 lower right Numbered 98/200 lower left Screenprint, 60.8 x 50.6 cm Note: Robert Indiana original name Robert Clark was an American painter, sculptor and printmaker who is frequently associated with Pop Art – though he has said he preferred calling himself a ‘sign painter’. In 1958 he changed his last name to ‘Indiana’, assuming what he called his ‘nom de brush’ and at the same time acknowledging his roots in the American Midwest. Critical of consumer tendencies and political excesses in American culture, Indiana’s images combined stencilled text and numbers and hard-edged bright colour fields into compelling signs. In 1961 Indiana began a series of paintings with a bold sense of graphic design and an affinity for symmetry and the dynamics of American advertising. Through his exploration in text art, Indiana created his first LOVE for personal Christmas cards in 1964. Indiana’s Pop icon was first realized as a painting in 1966, other media followed promptly. The colour scheme of the LOVE design was a tribute to his departed father: the red and green were meant to recall the sign of the Phillips 66 where his father worked, while the blue represents the sky of his home state. LOVE was turned into a special Valentine’s Day stamp in 1973, becoming one of the best-selling stamps of all time.
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