LOVE (Blue/Red)

LOVE is purely a skeleton of all that word has meant in all the erotic and religious aspects of the theme, and to bring it down to the actual structure of calligraphy [is to reduce it] to the bare bone.
—Robert Indiana


Impressive in scale, Robert Indiana’s vibrant blue and fire-engine red LOVE sculpture is one of the most celebrated and eye-catching works of the artist’s famed oeuvre. An iconic statement spanning global recognition, LOVE transforms text to three dimensional shape, surfacing a tangible essence of a hyper commodified culture. With its pulsating palette reminiscent of his native hometown in Indiana, the artist reveals intimate elements of his life while elevating consumerist ideals of American pop art. In his practice, Indiana reconfigures text to its most powerful and impactful form. These solid Roman letter typeface sculptures garner immediate attention setting into motion the heartwarming power of Indiana’s LOVE motif. Although it's one of various iterations of the artist’s most famed work, the 3D stacked signature arrests the spectator’s attention with its exuberant physical form. These works present themselves in public parks and squares and have transcended a playful take of American visual lexicon. Indiana’s LOVE originates from an era that was subject to conflict due to the Vietnam War and the battle for civil rights yet its vivid blue and red aurora pack a strong visual. LOVE champions the ethos of the flower child generation who used this universal symbol to combat the pervasive symptoms of war and racism. Indiana’s LOVE transcends the spectrum of media, seizing various styles of reappropriation, solidifying the visual power of text.