Robert Indiana
"I have always thought of my work as being celebratory. Let's say it's the three C's - commemorative, celebratory, and colourful."
Indiana's complex and multilayered work explored the power of language, American identity, and personal history, often consisting of striking, simple and direct words. Drawing on the vocabulary of vernacular road signs and roadside entertainments, Indiana created a body of work that appears bold and energetic.
In 1965, Indiana was invited to submit an artwork to be featured on the Museum of Modern Art's annual Christmas card. He offered several square oil on canvas variations based on his LOVE image, and the museum selected the most intense color combination in red, blue, and green. It became one of the most popular cards the museum has ever offered. Indiana continued to develop his LOVE series, and it would become amongst the most recognisable images in all of 20th century art, serving as the basis for paintings, prints and monumental works of sculpture.
