art bio for children

1. Robert Indiana
1928-

2. When a mailman has a letter for you, how
does he know which house is yours?

3. If your backpack gets lost, what shows that
it belongs to you?
How does your best friend call you?

4. How do you know when its safe to cross on
a busy street?

5. Street signs, house
numbers, phone
numbers we use
everyday.
Words and numbers
are important to
Robert Indiana.

6. He has turned
them into a
language of his
own.

7. Robert Indiana was
born in Indiana.
His last name was
Clark, but he
changed it to show
how important
words are to him.

8. He uses them to tell
you what he’s seen,
what he’s done, and
what he thinks.

9. His art looks like
road signs you
might see along
the highway.

10. Sometimes
they show
what roads
he’s traveled
and what’s
happened
along the way.

11. He remembers
neon signs and
games from
roadside
restaurants where
his mother worked.
He puts their
shapes and colors
into his art.

12. Sometimes they
encourage us to do
what he thinks we
should – like “EAT”
and “LOVE”.

13. Robert Indiana found some old number
stencils when he moved his studio into an
old warehouse.

14. The stencils
inspired him to
use words and
numbers in his
paintings.

15. “Some people
like to paint
trees, I like to
paint love. I
find it more
meaningful
than painting
trees.”

16. In 1973, the US
Postal service
put Robert
Indiana’s design
on the very first
“LOVE” stamp.
Over 323 million
of these stamps
were printed.

17. Every time a letter
with this stamp on
it was delivered,
Robert Indiana’s
message of
“LOVE” was being
spread a little
further.

18. Robert is probably most famous for his
“LOVE” artwork.

19. Sculptural
versions of
the image
have been
installed
across
America.

20. They can be found in places like
Philadelphia,

21. Love Sculpture in NYC

22. New York,

23. Arizona,

24. And even in Israel! This says “LOVE” in
Hebrew.

25. In 2008, Indiana
created an image
similar to his
LOVE, but this
time showcasing
the word "HOPE."

26. The artist created a public art
installation that spells HOPE
in celebration of Barack Obama’s
message of hope.

27. Robert
Indiana raised
more than $1
million for the
Obama
campaign by
creating
HOPE prints,
posters, T-
shirts and
other
memorabilia.

28. He calls “HOPE”, "LOVE”s closest relative".

29. Robert Indiana
Now and Then
Hope and Love