Love and the American Dream: The Art of Robert Indiana is the first exhibition to explore
the two central themes of Robert Indianas artistic career. Organized by the Portland Museum of Art, Love and the American Dream includes more
than 70 paintings, sculpture, and prints from museums and private collections across the country.
Although Robert Indiana came to prominence during the 1960s as a Pop artist, his concerns have always differed greatly from those of his
contemporaries. National and cultural identity have always held more interest for Indiana than the mass media and trappings of consumer culture. As
a self-styled American icon, his influences, methods, and outlook mirror that of his native country. What distinguishes Indiana from his Pop
colleagues is the depth of his personal engagement with his subject matter: America and American life.
Indianas works all speak to the vital forces that have shaped American culture in the late half of the 20th century: personal and national identity,
political and social upheaval and stasis, the rise of consumer culture, and the pressures of history. In a word, the American Dream. The American
Dream is the cornerstone of Indianas mature work. The roots of this powerful concept pervaded the artists Depression-era childhood, as well as the
social and political aspirations of the United States during his formative years as an artist (1940s-1960s). It was the theme of his first major painting
(sold to The Museum of Modern Art in 1961), as well as a series of works that continues to the present (the artist finished The Seventh American
Dream in 1998). Indianas process of reconstructing and redefining the American Dream has taken many forms: his political paintings, like The
Confederacy: Alabama (1965); his literary paintings, like The Calumet (1961); and his autoportraits and investigations of celebrity and identity,
like The Metamorphosis of Norma Jean Mortenson (1963-1967).
Indiana also created one of the most widely recognized works of art in the world: Love. Despite the popularity of this image--or perhaps because of
it--many critics have dismissed him as a designer, an opportunist, and a one-hit-wonder. Much of Indianas important contribution to American art
has been overshadowed by the proliferation, pirating, and mass production of works bearing the image of LOVE, yet this is also a vital and
important part of his career. Love is also part of the artists rethinking of the American Dream, but because of its crucial importance in Indianas career,
it will comprise a separate section of the exhibition and catalogue.
The exhibition catalogue will include three essays: The Journals of Robert Indiana, a discussion of the artists development through an examination
of his journal/sketchbooks from 1958-1963 by Daniel E. OLeary, Director of the Portland Museum of Art; Eternal Love, an investigation of
Indianas Love, its origins and impact on the artists career by Susan Elizabeth Ryan, Assistant Professor of Art History, Louisiana State University,
who is publishing a book with Yale University Press on Indiana; and An Americans Dreams, an essay on Indianas preoccupation with the idea of
The American Dream by Aprile Gallant, Portland Museum of Art curator and organizer of the exhibition. The 136-page catalogue will also include
a checklist, a complete bibliography on Indianas work, and 50 color illustrations. The catalogue will be available in the Museum Shop for $25.
This exhibition and catalogue are made possible by the generous support of Scott M. Black. A major grant has been provided by The Richard
Florsheim Art Fund, with additional support from Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.
MUSEUM INFORMATION
The Portland Museum of Art, located at Seven Congress Square, is easily reached from Exit 6A, I-295 North or South. Follow signs to the
Downtown Arts District. The Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday and
Friday. Memorial Day through Columbus Day, the Museum is open on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum admission is $6 for adults, $5 for
seniors and students, and $ for youth six to 12. Children under six are free. The Museum is free from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday evenings. Tours of
the Museum are available daily at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday evenings. Year-round Museum Caf‚ and Shop. The Museum welcomes
all members of the public. Accessibility to the Museum is barrier-free and tours for people with special needs are available through prior arrangement.
Web site: http://www.portlandmuseum.org. For more information, call 1-207-773-ARTS or 1-800-639-4067.>
Although Robert Indiana came to prominence during the 1960s as a Pop artist, his concerns have always differed greatly from those of his
contemporaries. National and cultural identity have always held more interest for Indiana than the mass media and trappings of consumer culture. As
a self-styled American icon, his influences, methods, and outlook mirror that of his native country. What distinguishes Indiana from his Pop
colleagues is the depth of his personal engagement with his subject matter: America and American life.
Indianas works all speak to the vital forces that have shaped American culture in the late half of the 20th century: personal and national identity,
political and social upheaval and stasis, the rise of consumer culture, and the pressures of history. In a word, the American Dream. The American
Dream is the cornerstone of Indianas mature work. The roots of this powerful concept pervaded the artists Depression-era childhood, as well as the
social and political aspirations of the United States during his formative years as an artist (1940s-1960s). It was the theme of his first major painting
(sold to The Museum of Modern Art in 1961), as well as a series of works that continues to the present (the artist finished The Seventh American
Dream in 1998). Indianas process of reconstructing and redefining the American Dream has taken many forms: his political paintings, like The
Confederacy: Alabama (1965); his literary paintings, like The Calumet (1961); and his autoportraits and investigations of celebrity and identity,
like The Metamorphosis of Norma Jean Mortenson (1963-1967).
Indiana also created one of the most widely recognized works of art in the world: Love. Despite the popularity of this image--or perhaps because of
it--many critics have dismissed him as a designer, an opportunist, and a one-hit-wonder. Much of Indianas important contribution to American art
has been overshadowed by the proliferation, pirating, and mass production of works bearing the image of LOVE, yet this is also a vital and
important part of his career. Love is also part of the artists rethinking of the American Dream, but because of its crucial importance in Indianas career,
it will comprise a separate section of the exhibition and catalogue.
The exhibition catalogue will include three essays: The Journals of Robert Indiana, a discussion of the artists development through an examination
of his journal/sketchbooks from 1958-1963 by Daniel E. OLeary, Director of the Portland Museum of Art; Eternal Love, an investigation of
Indianas Love, its origins and impact on the artists career by Susan Elizabeth Ryan, Assistant Professor of Art History, Louisiana State University,
who is publishing a book with Yale University Press on Indiana; and An Americans Dreams, an essay on Indianas preoccupation with the idea of
The American Dream by Aprile Gallant, Portland Museum of Art curator and organizer of the exhibition. The 136-page catalogue will also include
a checklist, a complete bibliography on Indianas work, and 50 color illustrations. The catalogue will be available in the Museum Shop for $25.
This exhibition and catalogue are made possible by the generous support of Scott M. Black. A major grant has been provided by The Richard
Florsheim Art Fund, with additional support from Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.
MUSEUM INFORMATION
The Portland Museum of Art, located at Seven Congress Square, is easily reached from Exit 6A, I-295 North or South. Follow signs to the
Downtown Arts District. The Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday and
Friday. Memorial Day through Columbus Day, the Museum is open on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum admission is $6 for adults, $5 for
seniors and students, and $ for youth six to 12. Children under six are free. The Museum is free from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday evenings. Tours of
the Museum are available daily at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday evenings. Year-round Museum Caf‚ and Shop. The Museum welcomes
all members of the public. Accessibility to the Museum is barrier-free and tours for people with special needs are available through prior arrangement.
Web site: http://www.portlandmuseum.org. For more information, call 1-207-773-ARTS or 1-800-639-4067.
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