The Art of Peter Max FROM OUR EDITORS
For multitalented artist Peter Max, life's long and winding road has left him again and again at fame's door. Once regarded as a faddish '60 icon, Max retreated into relative obscurity in the late '70s, still basking in the sales of his cosmic commercial art. Since then, he has painted portraits of five American presidents, illustrated the first ten-cent stamp, created 3-D computer art, and painted a Continental Airlines 777 passenger plane. This huge coffee-table book celebrates four decades of the Peter Max phenomenon in the bold, glorious color that it deserves.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
From such painted icons as his Statue of Liberty series and his dreamlike landscapes, to his pulsating graphics and world-famous posters that defined the visual aesthetic of the age of rock and roll, this richly illustrated book finally puts Max in perspective as a leading figure on the contemporary art scene. Compiled with the cooperation of the artist himself, it takes the viewer backstage into the studio and the celebrity studded life of an artist who is himself a celebrity.
SYNOPSIS
Peter Max is one of the world's most famous and popular living artists. For
more than forty years, beginning with his meteoric rise in the 1960s, his
work has been vastly influential in creating the visual vocabulary of our
time. Using brilliant color and a unique graphic style, he combines the
mysticism of the East with the joyous modernity of popular art in the West.
Peter Max has galleries all over the world, and is constantly traveling to
promote his art and vision. Whether painting an Continental Airlines jet
for the New York City Millennium celebration, being named principal artist
for New York's "Cow Parade" in 2000, designing posters for the World Cup,
the Grammys, and the Statue of Liberty, or raising money for charity through
his sales of his September 11th-inspired posters, Max has had an uncanny
ability to create art that not only reflects the spirit of the times, but
also has tremendous popular appeal.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Pop artist Max, like his contemporary Andy Warhol, had his artistic way with iconic figures: while Warhol captured Marilyn and Liz in Day-Glo glory, Max caught the visages of the Statue of Liberty, the Mona Lisa and George Washington in vibrant Technicolor (they both took a turn with Mick Jagger). But Max is the softer character in both art and life: his canvases are happier, swirlier, and he's a lot less hip. Perhaps it's his unabashed patriotism and his thorough endorsement by the establishment (though not necessarily the art world establishment). Max has painted Lady Liberty on the White House lawn, been named the official artist for the Grammys, the United Nations Earth Summit and five Superbowls, and had his paintings grace the covers of People, U.S. News & World Report and Manhattan's Yellow Pages-twice. This big, bright coffee table book shows Max's work in all of its wild energy, from his psychedelic posters (dorm room favorites) to his more recent forays into abstraction. Riley's accompanying text is appropriately heavy on the biographical detail and light on any high-falutin' art criticism, an approach perfectly appropriate for a volume celebrating one of history's most buoyantly middlebrow and accessible artists. Over 350 color plates. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
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