His personal quest for love was off kilter just like the ‘O’ in the sculpture, reminding us that love also can be complex, irregular, and surprising…
The Association for Public Art is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Robert Indiana (1928-2018), a prolific artist and icon who transformed the public art landscape in Philadelphia and around the world. We are grateful to have recently honored Indiana at our Robert Indiana: Beyond LOVE event with Whitney Museum of American Art’s curator Barbara Haskell and Creative Philadelphia’s Public Art Director, Margot Berg. (Watch the video here)
Penny Bach for the Inquirer: LOVE sculpture symbolizes ‘what we hope for, cherish, and memorialize’
In an op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Association for Public Art’s Executive Director & Chief Curator Penny Balkin Bach remarks on Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture and how the iconic work has become a symbol of Philadelphia:
Not only is it a landmark that identifies its site as ‘LOVE Park’ — it has become a symbol of our city — what we hope for, cherish, and memorialize. It has witnessed wedding proposals and Valentine’s greetings, has been carefully covered on World AIDS Day to represent loss, has been adopted by skateboarders, and is the site of countless “selfies.”
She goes on to say:
His personal quest for love was off kilter just like the “O” in the sculpture, reminding us that love also can be complex, irregular, and surprising. The LOVE sculpture is something for us all — the gift of a one-word poem from Indiana.”