Summary

The article discusses the complex legacy of Robert Indiana's "Love" statue, an iconic piece of American art that brought the artist fame but also financial and creative struggles.

Abstract

Robert Indiana's "Love" statue, characterized by its stacked letters, became an emblematic piece of American art, overshadowing its creator's life and career. Despite its widespread popularity and reproduction on various merchandise, Indiana saw little financial benefit from the work's success. The statue, initially gifted to Philadelphia, was sold due to financial issues, leading to controversy and a subsequent repurchase. Indiana, who valued non-commercial art, was dismayed by the commercialization of "Love," which he felt stifled his creativity. He eventually sold the intellectual property rights to the Morgan Art Foundation, which later sued him. The article also reveals that Indiana originally intended the word in the statue to be "Fuck," but was dissuaded by his friend, artist Ellsworth Kelly.

Opinions

The author suggests that the "Love" statue's popularity was both a blessing and a curse for Robert Indiana.
The sale of the "Love" statue by Philadelphia for $45,000 was seen by the local art community as undervalued and a result of poor financial management.
Indiana's discontent with the commercialization of his work is evident, as he felt it detracted from the non-commercial values he held in art.
The article implies that the widespread reproduction of "Love" on merchandise, including postage stamps, diminished the artistic integrity of the original piece.
The author expresses gratitude towards Ellsworth Kelly for convincing Indiana to use "Love" instead of "Fuck," suggesting that this decision contributed to the statue's positive cultural impact.

Art World: I’ll take Love

This is the tale of Robert Indiana and the unprofitable story of the Love Statue, arguably the most iconic work of art ever created in the United States.

Love ruined Robert Indiana’s life. It became so well known and popular in the world of art, Indiana could not keep up with the demands on his time. Municipalities and institutions, including the USPS, clamored for Love.

How many of you have purchased this universally recognized assemblage of letters to give to someone you hold dear?

I know I have!

For Love and Money:

Love has never been a good investment.

The original Love Statue was gifted to the city of Philadelphia by its artist creator, Robert Indiana. Mismanagement of finances by city officials necessitated the city to sell off assets, one of which was the Love Statue.

Big brother New York, in a bit of a financial squeeze also, saw the value of Love. New York purchased the iconic work paying $45,000 for it.

None of which went to Indiana.

The Philadelphia art community went wild. They were not made aware of an imminent sale.In addition they felt the price too modest.

After all it was already a fixture in what was later called Love Park.

The Philadelphia art aficionados threatened litigation to rescind the sale plus damages and fees.

Fritz Dixon an old line (and famous brother of Grace Kelly who married up and was currently occupied as the Princess of Monaco) purchased it back from the center of the financial world for $35,000.

Hey guys, hedge funds didn’t start until a number of years later. What were you thinking?

Love was in the air. It was on Christmas cards, postage stamps, mini statues, tee shirts, coffee cups, maybe even condoms (but that hasn’t been verified)

Indiana’s take on all this Love:

$1000 from the Post Office.

Indiana, a man who valued the concept of non-commercialization in art joked in an interview that Love was the most cancelled work ever created, the post office having issued 330,000,000 stamps in those first years.

Indiana had to wait until 3 decades to earn money for his famous creation. He began a partnership with Morgan Art Foundation, a for profit company who purchased the intellectual property rights for Love from him. Morgan Art went on to finance many of his projects.

They eventually sued Indiana to retrieve the money they had invested claiming there was no copyright on Love.

Indiana placed blame on Love for draining him of his creativity at the height of his productive years.

He fled New York and took up residence on the Island of Vinalhaven off the coast of Maine. There he lived, the man who created Love, paying young associates to assemble work for which he’d sign his name.

The man who gave us Love died in 2018 at the age of 90.

Many of us gifted replica’s of the Indiana statue, prints on any number of products, Love on stamps sending missives of affection to those about whom we care.

It comes as an unpleasant surprise to know:

The word for the Love Statue was originally intended to be Fuck!

The U in the word tilting to the right exactly as the O does in Love.

Apparently Indiana was more concerned with the placement of letters and colors than he was the meaning of the word involved.

His friend Ellsworth Kelly, famous artist in his own right, talked him out of it.

Thank you Ellsworth!

We love YOU for that!

This post was self-published 6/6/22