HOPE Wall
In 1978 Robert Indiana moved into the Star of Hope – a lodge on the island of Vinalhaven Maine – where he would remain until his death. The Star of Hope was built in 1874 for the “Odd Fellows” of Vinalhaven. (Indiana first visited Vinalhaven in 1969 and visited annually until 1978.)
The word HOPE ruminated in Indiana’s mind from 1978 onward (if it had not already lodged in his mind before). Like “love”, it had the requisite four letters to suit Indiana’s signature aesthetic. But the catalyst for “hope’s” appearance in Indiana’s verbal lexicon took place in 2006 with Barack Obama’s book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. Indiana would later refer to HOPE as a “brother” to LOVE. (USA Today, August 30, 2008, “Maine Artist finds Hope after Love”.)
Year: 2010
Medium: Silkscreen on paper
From the edition of 33
Hand signed and dated lower right, numbered lower left
Size: 24 x 25 in (61 x 63.5 cm)
What is a “wall”?
Indiana’s first “walls” were “love walls”, and they were first exhibited in 1966 at New York’s Stable Gallery. Love were comprised of four paintings or panels. Each panel contained a painting of his iconic LOVE (with the LO on top, O tilted, and the VE on the bottom). Each panel was the exact same size and shape – all were square. The four panels were placed together to make a larger square. As each panel was rotated, each letter was meant to mirror itself. Some of his Love Wall paintings were made into prints. It was not unusual for Indiana to publish a print in image of a painting that was placed in a museum or private collection. Indeed, most of Indiana’s published prints are based on those paintings that left his studio, not those that remained in his archives. “Over time, as ...paintings were bought by private collectors or public institutions, Indiana felt their loss keenly and felt that making a print of the departing canvas was a satisfying compensation. Thus developed a pattern throughout his career of producing prints of works that were leaving his hands.” (As stated by John Wilmerding in the Foreword of The Essential Robert Indiana by Krause, Wilmerding, (2013) at page 19.)
When HOPE was created, a small series of Hope Walls were created in this fashion. The Hope Wall prints were not made of four separate prints, rather the concept was laid down as a single screenprint.