Jump to content

Love (image): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→Versions: added Gaza thumbnail picture from Wiki Commons
New category.
 
(141 intermediate revisions by 73 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Pop art image by Robert Indiana}}
⚫
[[File:Lovestamp.png|thumb|[[United States postage stamps|US postage stamp]]]]
{{for|the rock band|Love Sculpture}}
{{Redirect|LOVE (sculpture)|sculptures of this image|List of Love sculptures|the Maurizio Cattelan sculpture|L.O.V.E. (sculpture)|the rock band|Love Sculpture}}
{{italic title}}
'''''LOVE''''' is an iconic [[Pop Art]] image by American artist [[Robert Indiana]]. It consists of the letters LO over the letters VE; the O is canted sideways so that its [[oblong]] [[negative space]] creates a line leading to the V. The original image, with green and blue spaces backing red lettering, served as a [[Photographic print|print]] image for a [[Museum of Modern Art]] [[Christmas card]] in 1964. In much this same form the design soon graced a popular US [[postage stamp]]. Its original rendering in [[sculpture]] was made in 1970 and is [[LOVE (Indianapolis)|displayed in Indiana]] at the [[Indianapolis Museum of Art]]. The material is [[COR-TEN]] steel <ref name="Love IMA">[http://www.imamuseum.org/collections/artwork/love-indiana-robert "Love" (sculpture)], Explore Art: IMA Collections. Retrieved 5 March 2013.</ref> Indiana's ''LOVE'' design has since been reproduced in a variety of formats for rendering in displays around the world.
⚫
[[File:Lovestamp.png|thumb|[[United States postage stamps|1973 US postage stamp]]]]

'''''Love''''' is a [[pop art]] image by American artist [[Robert Indiana]]. It consists of the letters L and O over the letters V and E in bold [[Didone (typography)|Didone type]]; the O is slanted sideways so that its [[Rectangle|oblong]] [[negative space]] creates a line leading to the V.

The image ''LOVE'' was first created in 1964 in the form of a card which Robert Indiana sent to several friends and acquaintances in the art world. In 1965, he was invited to propose an artwork to be featured on the [[Museum of Modern Art]]'s annual Christmas card.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Ryan |first=Susan Elizabeth |title=Robert Indiana: Figures of Speech |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2000 |isbn=0300079575 |location=New Haven |page=203 |language=English}}</ref> Indiana submitted several 12” square oil on canvas variations based on his ''LOVE'' image. 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.

A 34" x 34" screenprint of the image (1967) is in the MoMA permanent collection.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Indiana |first1=Robert |title=Love |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/68726 |website=moma.org |access-date=29 June 2024}}</ref> A 72" x 72" oil painting of the image (1966) is in the permanent collection of the [[Indianapolis Museum of Art]], which also owns one of the screenprints.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Indiana |first1=Robert |title=Love |url=https://collections.discovernewfields.org/art/artwork/21319 |website=collections.discovernewfields.org |access-date=29 June 2024}}</ref> In 1966 Indiana worked with [[Marian Goodman]] of Multiples, Inc. to make his first ''LOVE'' sculpture in aluminum. In 1970, Indiana completed his first monumental ''LOVE'' [[Love (Indianapolis)|sculpture]] in [[Weathering steel|Cor-Ten steel]], which is also in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.<ref name="Love IMA">[http://www.imamuseum.org/collections/artwork/love-indiana-robert "Love" (sculpture)], Explore Art: IMA Collections. Retrieved 5 March 2013.</ref>


==Significance==
==Significance==

===Original inspirations===
===Original inspirations===
[[File:LOVE Park Philly.JPG|thumb|JFK Plaza with the [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]] in the distant background]]
[[File:LOVE Park Philly.JPG|thumb|[[Love Park]], officially John F. Kennedy Plaza, with the [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]] in the distant background]]
MoMA historian Deborah Wye<ref>Deborah Wye, Artists and Prints: Masterworks from The Museum of Modern Art, New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2004, p. 166</ref> describes Indiana's image as "full of erotic, religious, autobiographical, and political underpinnings" that make it "both accessible and complex in meaning.<ref>Deborah Wye, Artists and Prints: Masterworks from The Museum of Modern Art, New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2004, p. 166</ref><ref>http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=68726</ref> Megan Wilde offered more detail about the autobiographical origins in an article for ''[[Mental Floss]]'' magazine, "The word ''love'' was connected to [the artist's] childhood experiences attending a [[Church of Christ Scientist|Christian Science]] church, where the only decoration was the wall inscription ''God is Love.'' The colors were an homage to his father, who worked at a [[Phillips 66]] gas station during the [[Great Depression|Depression]]." She quotes Robert Indiana as describing the original colors as "the red and green of that sign against the blue [[Hoosier]] sky."<ref>http://mentalfloss.com/article/25276/masterpieces-robert-indianas-love</ref>
MoMA historian Deborah Wye<ref name="auto">Deborah Wye, Artists and Prints: Masterworks from The Museum of Modern Art, New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2004, p. 166</ref> describes Indiana's image as "full of erotic, religious, autobiographical, and political underpinnings" that make it "both accessible and complex in meaning."<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=68726|title=MoMA|work=MoMA.org}}</ref>

The [[iconography]] first appeared in a series of poems originally written in 1958, in which Indiana stacked LO and VE on top of one another. The first paintings addressing the subject of love were ''4-Star Love'' (1961) and ''Love Is God'' (1964).

The art historian Susan Elizabeth Ryan wrote that in 1964 ''LOVE'' had been a "more explicit four-letter word—beginning with F, and with a second letter, a U, intriguingly tilted to the right." Indiana and [[Ellsworth Kelly]] had been in a rocky relationship and Indiana had been working on word paintings. She adds "The two men were in the habit of exchanging postcard-size sketches, with Mr. Kelly laying down fields of color and Mr. Indiana adding large words atop the abstractions."<ref name=":0" />

Indiana's red, blue, and green ''LOVE'' painting was then selected to appear on the [[Museum of Modern Art]]’s annual Christmas card in 1965. In an interview Robert Indiana said, "It was the most profitable Christmas card the museum ever published."<ref name=":1" />


Indiana said he was inspired to use these colors because his father used to work at a [[Phillips 66]] gas station whose colors were green and red. Robert Indiana described the original colors as "the red and green of that sign against the blue [[Hoosier]] sky". Still, it is believed the colors were inspired also by the painting ''Red Blue Green'' (1963) of [[Ellsworth Kelly]], his former partner.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Red Blue Green, 1963 - Ellsworth Kelly - WikiArt.org |url=https://www.wikiart.org/en/ellsworth-kelly/red-blue-green-1963 |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=www.wikiart.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The hidden message in Robert Indiana's Love {{!}} art {{!}} Agenda {{!}} Phaidon |url=https://www.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2016/september/13/the-hidden-messages-in-robert-indiana-s-love/ |access-date=2022-03-29 |website=www.phaidon.com}}</ref>
===Acquired associations===
Indiana's image was quickly adapted upon its appearance in the 1960s by the [[hippie]] [[free love]] movement and again in the 1990s by [[skateboard]] enthusiasts after skateboarding was banned in [[Philadelphia]]'s [[Love Park]].<ref>[http://www.ushistory.org/lovepark/index.htm Free Love Park, Philadelphia PA]</ref>


Indiana said, "Ellsworth Kelly introduced me to [[Hard-edge painting|Hard-Edge]] and was a great influence on my work, and is responsible for my being here".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.artspace.com/magazine/interviews_features/robert_indiana_interview|title=Robert Indiana on 50 Years of Art, and the Fraught Life of "LOVE"|website=Artspace|language=english|access-date=2020-04-06}}</ref>
⚫
==Versions==
⚫
[[File:LOVE sculpture NY.JPG|thumb|Sculpture in [[New York City]], [[USA]]]]
⚫
{{main|List of Love sculptures}}
Versions of the sculpture now exist in [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]] as well as the original [[English language|English]].


The first [[Screen printing|serigraph/silk screen]] of ''LOVE'' was printed as part of an exhibition poster for Stable Gallery in 1966 on the occasion of Indiana's show dedicated to his ''LOVE'' series.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Love and the American Dream: the Art of Robert Indiana. |page=87}}</ref>
The image has been rendered and parodied in countless forms. The original book cover for [[Erich Segal]]'s novel ''[[Love Story (novel)|Love Story]]'' alluded to the design, and the TV series ''[[Bridget Loves Bernie]]'' included a shot of the Sixth Avenue sculpture in its opening credits. The United States Post Office issued an eight-cent stamp in 1973 featuring the image. Parodies of the image appeared on covers of records by [[Rage Against the Machine]] (''[[Renegades (Rage Against the Machine album)|Renegades]]''), [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] (''[[Little by Little (Oasis song)|Little by Little]]'' single) and [[Acen]] (''[[75 Minutes]]''). London artist [[D*Face]] parodied the image by rendering the word ''hate'' with the ''A'' tilted and Belgian artist Eddy Gabriel made a version using the word ''lost''.<ref>[http://witzenstein.blogspot.com/2007/07/robert-indiana-in-temple-of-doom.html Blogspot.com]</ref> The sculpture is remade to read "THPS" in [[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2#Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X|the Xbox expansion of ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2'']], which has a stage set in [[LOVE Park|Philadelphia's Love Park]]. The set reappears in ''[[Tony Hawk's Underground 2]]''. [[Evan Greenfield]]'s sculpture "I'm Lovin' It" alludes to Indiana's image.{{citation needed|date=February 2011}}


In 1973, the [[United States Postal Service]] commissioned a stamp design by Indiana and released the eight-cent ''LOVE'' stamp in advance of [[Valentine's Day]]. Unveiled in a ceremony at the [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]], the stamp became so popular that 425 million were printed over the next two years.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Belmont |first=Faries |date=January 27, 1974 |title=LOVE back for Valentine's Day |page=A76 |work=Boston Globe}}</ref>
On February 14, 2011, [[Google]] posted a special [[Valentine's Day]] edition of its [[Google logo|logo]] based on the famous image.


⚫
== Versions ==
See also [[List of Love sculptures]]
[[File:LOVE New Castle.jpg|thumb|''LOVE'' Sculpture Arts Park in New Castle, Indiana]]
⚫
[[File:LOVE sculpture NY.JPG|thumb|Sculpture in [[New York City]], United States]]
⚫
{{Main|List of LOVE sculptures}}


=== Hebrew version ===
{| class="wikitable"
In 1977, he created a Hebrew LOVE with the four-letter word Ahava (אהבה "love" in Hebrew) using [[Weathering steel|Cor-Ten steel]], for the [[Israel Museum]] Art Garden in Jerusalem.
| [[Image:Ratm_renegades.png|thumb|200px|none|[[Rage Against the Machine]]'s [[Renegades (Rage Against the Machine album)|Renegades]] album art]]
| [[Image:Google-doodle-valentines11-hp.jpg|thumb|200px|none|[[Google Doodle]] for [[Valentine's day]] 2011]]
| [[Image:LittleByLittleSheIsLove.jpg|thumb|200px|none|[[Little by Little (Oasis song)|Little by Little/She is Love]] cover]]
|[[File:Amor National Sculpture Garden DC Robert Indiana.jpg|thumb|Amor National Sculpture Garden DC Robert Indiana]]
|[[File:GazaLove Poster SM.jpg|thumb|GazaLove Poster SM]]
|}


=== Variation for Google ===
==See also==
For [[Valentine's Day]] 2011, [[Google]] paid homage to Indiana's ''LOVE'', which was displayed in place of the search engine site's normal logo. <gallery class="center">
* [[Robert Indiana]]
File:Amor National Sculpture Garden DC Robert Indiana.jpg|''Amor'', National Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/exhibitions/permanent/amor.html |title=Amor |accessdate=2014-05-07 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508061511/http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/exhibitions/permanent/amor.html |archivedate=2014-05-08 }}</ref>
* [[Pop Art]]
File:Ahava.jpg|In [[Hebrew]], at [[The Israel Museum]], [[Jerusalem]]
* [[List of Love sculptures]]
</gallery>
* [[LOVE (Indianapolis)]]


==References==
==References==
Line 40: Line 48:
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


[[Category:Love]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Love}}
[[Category:Pop art|pop culture]]
[[Category:Pop art]]
[[Category:Outdoor sculptures]]
[[Category:1965 paintings]]
[[Category:Outdoor sculptures in the United States]]
[[Category:Works by Robert Indiana]]
[[Category:Public art]]
[[Category:Steel sculptures]]
[[Category:1964 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1970 sculptures]]
[[Category:Weathering steel]]

Latest revision as of 01:59, 8 December 2024

"LOVE (sculpture)" redirects here. For sculptures of this image, see List of Love sculptures. For the Maurizio Cattelan sculpture, see L.O.V.E. (sculpture). For the rock band, see Love Sculpture.

1973 US postage stamp

Love is a pop art image by American artist Robert Indiana. It consists of the letters L and O over the letters V and E in bold Didone type; the O is slanted sideways so that its oblong negative space creates a line leading to the V.

The image LOVE was first created in 1964 in the form of a card which Robert Indiana sent to several friends and acquaintances in the art world. In 1965, he was invited to propose an artwork to be featured on the Museum of Modern Art's annual Christmas card.[1] Indiana submitted several 12” square oil on canvas variations based on his LOVE image. 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.

A 34" x 34" screenprint of the image (1967) is in the MoMA permanent collection.[2] A 72" x 72" oil painting of the image (1966) is in the permanent collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, which also owns one of the screenprints.[3] In 1966 Indiana worked with Marian Goodman of Multiples, Inc. to make his first LOVE sculpture in aluminum. In 1970, Indiana completed his first monumental LOVE sculpture in Cor-Ten steel, which is also in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.[4]

Significance

[edit]

Original inspirations

[edit]
Love Park, officially John F. Kennedy Plaza, with the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the distant background

MoMA historian Deborah Wye[5] describes Indiana's image as "full of erotic, religious, autobiographical, and political underpinnings" that make it "both accessible and complex in meaning."[5][6]

The iconography first appeared in a series of poems originally written in 1958, in which Indiana stacked LO and VE on top of one another. The first paintings addressing the subject of love were 4-Star Love (1961) and Love Is God (1964).

The art historian Susan Elizabeth Ryan wrote that in 1964 LOVE had been a "more explicit four-letter word—beginning with F, and with a second letter, a U, intriguingly tilted to the right." Indiana and Ellsworth Kelly had been in a rocky relationship and Indiana had been working on word paintings. She adds "The two men were in the habit of exchanging postcard-size sketches, with Mr. Kelly laying down fields of color and Mr. Indiana adding large words atop the abstractions."[1]

Indiana's red, blue, and green LOVE painting was then selected to appear on the Museum of Modern Art’s annual Christmas card in 1965. In an interview Robert Indiana said, "It was the most profitable Christmas card the museum ever published."[7]

Indiana said he was inspired to use these colors because his father used to work at a Phillips 66 gas station whose colors were green and red. Robert Indiana described the original colors as "the red and green of that sign against the blue Hoosier sky". Still, it is believed the colors were inspired also by the painting Red Blue Green (1963) of Ellsworth Kelly, his former partner.[8][9]

Indiana said, "Ellsworth Kelly introduced me to Hard-Edge and was a great influence on my work, and is responsible for my being here".[7]

The first serigraph/silk screen of LOVE was printed as part of an exhibition poster for Stable Gallery in 1966 on the occasion of Indiana's show dedicated to his LOVE series.[10]

In 1973, the United States Postal Service commissioned a stamp design by Indiana and released the eight-cent LOVE stamp in advance of Valentine's Day. Unveiled in a ceremony at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the stamp became so popular that 425 million were printed over the next two years.[11]

Versions

[edit]
LOVE Sculpture Arts Park in New Castle, Indiana
Sculpture in New York City, United States
Main article: List of LOVE sculptures

Hebrew version

[edit]

In 1977, he created a Hebrew LOVE with the four-letter word Ahava (אהבה "love" in Hebrew) using Cor-Ten steel, for the Israel Museum Art Garden in Jerusalem.

Variation for Google

[edit]

For Valentine's Day 2011, Google paid homage to Indiana's LOVE, which was displayed in place of the search engine site's normal logo.

References

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Love by Robert Indiana.
  1. ^ a b Ryan, Susan Elizabeth (2000). Robert Indiana: Figures of Speech. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 203. ISBN 0300079575.
  2. ^ Indiana, Robert. "Love". moma.org. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  3. ^ Indiana, Robert. "Love". collections.discovernewfields.org. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
  4. ^ "Love" (sculpture), Explore Art: IMA Collections. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  5. ^ a b Deborah Wye, Artists and Prints: Masterworks from The Museum of Modern Art, New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2004, p. 166
  6. ^ "MoMA". MoMA.org.
  7. ^ a b "Robert Indiana on 50 Years of Art, and the Fraught Life of "LOVE"". Artspace. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  8. ^ "Red Blue Green, 1963 - Ellsworth Kelly - WikiArt.org". www.wikiart.org. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  9. ^ "The hidden message in Robert Indiana's Love | art | Agenda | Phaidon". www.phaidon.com. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
  10. ^ Love and the American Dream: the Art of Robert Indiana. p. 87.
  11. ^ Belmont, Faries (January 27, 1974). "LOVE back for Valentine's Day". Boston Globe. p. A76.
  12. ^ "Amor". Archived from the original on 2014-05-08. Retrieved 2014-05-07.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Love_(image)&oldid=1261809833"