Maine Resident Receives Annual Art Award
Robert Indiana, a Vinalhaven resident best known for his work during the Pop Art movement of the 1960’s, has been named the recipient of the 2009 Maine in America Award. The annual award is given by the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland to honor an individual or group who has made an outstanding contribution to Maine’s role in American art. Previous winners of the award are John Wilmerding (2006), Andrew Wyeth (2007), and Will Barnet (2008).
After graduating from technical school, Indiana moved to Manhattan and joined an art movement that combined commercial art with philosophical thought, challenging through irony a traditionally elitist mentality of art. Indiana’s approach is self-described as “sculptural poems.
At the age of 34, Indiana held his first solo exhibition in New York, where he sold The American Dream to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA). Two years later his art would reach national prominence.
Indiana’s first major accomplishment was his 1964 EAT sculpture. The 20’x20’ metal sculpture consisting of five six-foot disks spelling out the word EAT became a resounding success. Commissioned by the New York State Pavilion and displayed at The World’s Fair in Flushing, New York, fair-goers lined up to see the piece of art many thought was a sign to an entrance of a diner. Confusion ultimately led to the sculpture’s lights being shut off, but not before Robert Indiana became a household name. As the story goes, it was Indiana’s mother who inspired him to produce the piece when she awoke from a drawn out sickness and asked her son if he had anything to eat. His mother would pass away shortly thereafter, and for the first time since the 1964 World’s Fair, The EAT sculpture is on display atop the Farnsworth Museum.
Soon after finding fame, Indiana created his most renowned piece of art, his 1964 LOVE sculpture. Similar in style, the piece consisted of giant red letters stacked on top of each other, with the O block slightly askew. The piece was originally designed for the MOMA’s Christmas card, and was later reproduced in numerous locations around the world. In 1973, the work was put on the eight cent stamp by the United States Postal Service, and in 1977 he created a Hebrew version with the four letter word for love, Ahava, for the Israel Museum Art Garden in Jerusalem.
Indiana moved to Maine in 1978, where he has brought with him his artistic passion. In 2008, Indiana altered his LOVE masterpiece for then president hopeful, Barack Obama, by changing the letters to spell HOPE. The work hit center stage and was adopted by the Obama campaign, who sold T-shirts, pins, bumper stickers, posters, and other items adorned with the message. A stainless steel sculpture of HOPE was constructed outside the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and Indiana donated all of the piece’s proceeds to the Obama campaign, ultimately raising over $1 million dollars for the soon to be elected 44th president.
The Law Offices of Joe Bornstein would like to congratulate Robert Indiana for being honored as this year’s Maine in America Award winner. It is through his hard work and groundbreaking art, humbleness and generosity, and most importantly LOVE and HOPE, that make him the ideal recipient. From June 20th to October 25th, Indiana’s work will be on display at the Farnsworth Museum for all to enjoy.
For more information on the Maine in America Award, Robert Indiana’s exhibition, and the Farnsworth Museum, please visit: www.farnsworthmuseum.org.
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