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Lot Essay
Indiana first came to prominence as a Pop artist during the 1960s when the work of artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, among others, was addressing the culture of consumerism and mass media. Indiana's work, however, centered on an entirely different theme. His interests lay in the American cultural identity, specifically the relationship between personal and national identities and the socio political changes occurring in 1960s America. His richly saturated compositions combining words and graphic symbolism act as a device to communicate these concerns.
Throughout his career Indiana addressed many sub-themes within these concerns, one of which, as in Chief, explores the Native American Indian's role in modern society. The marginalization of the American Indian population and their struggle to integrate with American society was one of many socio political issues facing the country during this era. Whether in film or politics, the portrayal of the American Indian was laden with negative stereotypical imagery. It is possible that Indiana's interest in this specific issue was first piqued when as a young man in 1947 he travelled across the Southwest on the now famous red and yellow painted Santa Fe line "SuperChief" train which traveled between Chicago and Los Angeles. The very name of the train, along with the colouring and corporate advertising which included the portrayal of an Indian Chief leading the way quite possibly had a strong impact on the young artist.
It wasn't until later on in the 60s that the "Chief" iconography initially appeared in Indiana's work. The first occurrence was with his 1962 assemblage also entitled Chief. Commenting on the work in the exhibition catalogue for the Indiana Retrospective in 1998, Hélène Depotte observed that "One should not dwell on the work's primitivism; it is not meant as an evocation of the totem poles found among certain Indian tribes. Rather, it is [the] work's title, which calls attention to the figure of the one who represents the group (the chief), the choice of colors (red and yellow) with their symbolic role (war and peace), and its vertical structuring and frontality that evoke the totemic ancestor, one who represents the group and effaces his own personality in order to become a symbol and spokesman" (H. Depotte, "Towards an Immobile Voyage: Robert Indiana, the Reality-Dreamer", in Robert Indiana Retrospective 1958-1998, exh. cat., Nice, Museum d'Art Modern et d'Art Contemporain, Nice, 1998, pp. 71-72).
Indiana returned to this theme in 1969 with the present work. Once again he embraced the same colour scheme and inscribes "Chief" in the popular and readily recognizable Coca-Cola font. In this new Chief Indiana incorporated a more simple two-dimensional graphic composition, more akin to advertising, to draw viewers in and invite them to debate the changes in American society. The yellow and red rising sun, reminiscent of a painting like Lichtenstein's Sunrise from 1965 is suggestive of the romantic notion of riding off in to the sunset and the American dream so prevalent in the mindset of Americans at this time. Indiana's use of red and yellow to form the rays, again refers back to the balance and political struggle between inclusion and exclusion as well as, in a sense, war and peace.
Throughout his career Indiana addressed many sub-themes within these concerns, one of which, as in Chief, explores the Native American Indian's role in modern society. The marginalization of the American Indian population and their struggle to integrate with American society was one of many socio political issues facing the country during this era. Whether in film or politics, the portrayal of the American Indian was laden with negative stereotypical imagery. It is possible that Indiana's interest in this specific issue was first piqued when as a young man in 1947 he travelled across the Southwest on the now famous red and yellow painted Santa Fe line "SuperChief" train which traveled between Chicago and Los Angeles. The very name of the train, along with the colouring and corporate advertising which included the portrayal of an Indian Chief leading the way quite possibly had a strong impact on the young artist.
It wasn't until later on in the 60s that the "Chief" iconography initially appeared in Indiana's work. The first occurrence was with his 1962 assemblage also entitled Chief. Commenting on the work in the exhibition catalogue for the Indiana Retrospective in 1998, Hélène Depotte observed that "One should not dwell on the work's primitivism; it is not meant as an evocation of the totem poles found among certain Indian tribes. Rather, it is [the] work's title, which calls attention to the figure of the one who represents the group (the chief), the choice of colors (red and yellow) with their symbolic role (war and peace), and its vertical structuring and frontality that evoke the totemic ancestor, one who represents the group and effaces his own personality in order to become a symbol and spokesman" (H. Depotte, "Towards an Immobile Voyage: Robert Indiana, the Reality-Dreamer", in Robert Indiana Retrospective 1958-1998, exh. cat., Nice, Museum d'Art Modern et d'Art Contemporain, Nice, 1998, pp. 71-72).
Indiana returned to this theme in 1969 with the present work. Once again he embraced the same colour scheme and inscribes "Chief" in the popular and readily recognizable Coca-Cola font. In this new Chief Indiana incorporated a more simple two-dimensional graphic composition, more akin to advertising, to draw viewers in and invite them to debate the changes in American society. The yellow and red rising sun, reminiscent of a painting like Lichtenstein's Sunrise from 1965 is suggestive of the romantic notion of riding off in to the sunset and the American dream so prevalent in the mindset of Americans at this time. Indiana's use of red and yellow to form the rays, again refers back to the balance and political struggle between inclusion and exclusion as well as, in a sense, war and peace.