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Lot Essay
Please note this work will be included in the forthcoming Robert Indiana catalogue raisonné being prepared by Simon Salama-Caro.
Comprised of pairs of consecutive numbers stacked on top of one another, the composition of Robert Indiana's 1234 is as dynamic as it is intriguing. Characterized by its patriotic color scheme, the visual arrangement of the numerals is evocative of an American flag with blue numbers set against a white background above white numbers set against a red one. The design of the piece is enhanced by the shapes of the Roman-type Arabic numerals which are old-fashioned, yet elegantly formed and full-bodied. Robert Indiana's fascination with numbers stems from his childhood, a period during his life in which his family moved constantly from home to home in Indianapolis.
Strongly believing that numbers represent the spectrum of one's existence, Indiana takes note of his personal recollections and passages of time and translates them into numbers. "Our very lives are structured on numbers," Indiana said, "Birthdays, age, addresses, money--everywhere you turn, there are numbersNumbers surround us. It's endlessIf you happen to feel that love is as equally important as numbers, then you're an idealist, a dreamer. Everything we do is reckoned by numbers." (R. Indiana, quoted by M. Dibner, Indiana's Indianas: A Retrospective of Paintings and Sculpture From The Collection of Robert Indiana, Rockland, 1982, p. 7)
Comprised of pairs of consecutive numbers stacked on top of one another, the composition of Robert Indiana's 1234 is as dynamic as it is intriguing. Characterized by its patriotic color scheme, the visual arrangement of the numerals is evocative of an American flag with blue numbers set against a white background above white numbers set against a red one. The design of the piece is enhanced by the shapes of the Roman-type Arabic numerals which are old-fashioned, yet elegantly formed and full-bodied. Robert Indiana's fascination with numbers stems from his childhood, a period during his life in which his family moved constantly from home to home in Indianapolis.
Strongly believing that numbers represent the spectrum of one's existence, Indiana takes note of his personal recollections and passages of time and translates them into numbers. "Our very lives are structured on numbers," Indiana said, "Birthdays, age, addresses, money--everywhere you turn, there are numbersNumbers surround us. It's endlessIf you happen to feel that love is as equally important as numbers, then you're an idealist, a dreamer. Everything we do is reckoned by numbers." (R. Indiana, quoted by M. Dibner, Indiana's Indianas: A Retrospective of Paintings and Sculpture From The Collection of Robert Indiana, Rockland, 1982, p. 7)