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Catalog Data

Artist:
Jack Mitchell, 13 Sep 1925 - 7 Nov 2013  Search this
Sitter:
Robert Indiana, 13 Sep 1928 - 19 May 2018  Search this
Medium:
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
Image/Sheet: 28 × 35.5 cm (11 × 14")
Type:
Photograph
Place:
United States\New York\Kings\New York
Date:
1971
Exhibition Label:
Born New Castle, Indiana
In this photograph, artist Robert Indiana stands before one of his iconic LOVE sculptures in New York City’s Central Park. Indiana sketched the first version in 1964, and the Museum of Modern Art subsequently adopted a later iteration for its holiday greeting card. Although Indiana reproduced the image across various media, he refers to it as the “most plagiarized work of art” of the twentieth century, used on a steady stream of unlicensed products.
Melding assemblage, hard-edged painting, and Pop art, Indiana called himself an “American painter of signs,” having grown up around the bright lights of gas stations, where his father had worked for a time. Produced during the antiwar movement of the 1960s, the LOVE series is part of a larger body of work that deconstructs the American dream. “The American dream, that’s our folly,” Indiana told NPR in 2014. “That’s our folly. Look where we’re ending up.”
Nacido en New Castle, Indiana
Esta foto muestra al artista Robert Indiana delante de una de sus icónicas esculturas de la palabra LOVE en el Parque Central de Nueva York. Indiana esbozó la primera versión en 1964 y luego el Museo de Arte Moderno adoptó otra versión para su tarjeta de Navidad. Aunque él mismo reprodujo la imagen en varios medios, Indiana la consideraba “la obra de arte más plagiada” del siglo XX, usada en un sinfín de productos sin licencia.
Combinando ensamblaje, pintura hard-edge y arte pop, Indiana se identificaba como un “pintor de letreros”, habiendo crecido cerca de los letreros iluminados de las estaciones de gasolina donde trabajó su padre. Creada durante el movimiento antibélico de los años sesenta, la serie LOVE es parte de una producción artística que deconstruye el sueño americano. “El sueño americano, esa es nuestra locura”, comentó Indiana a NPR en 2014. “Es nuestra locura. Mira adónde hemos llegado”.
Topic:
Costume\Headgear\Hat  Search this
Exterior  Search this
Nature & Environment\Plant\Tree  Search this
Artwork  Search this
Artwork\Sculpture  Search this
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Bench  Search this
Equipment\Umbrella  Search this
Costume\Outerwear\Coat  Search this
Nature & Environment\Rain  Search this
Robert Indiana: Visual Arts\Artist  Search this
Robert Indiana: Male  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Craig Highberger, Executive Director, Jack Mitchell Archives
Object number:
NPG.2017.48
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© 1971 Jack Mitchell
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm422d39945-ec7e-4088-9faa-ddb02f67fc11
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.2017.48