Robert Indiana: Beyond Love. Whitney Museum.

Well I finally made it back to the Whitney for the Indiana show, and I was very surprised by how much I liked this show. I was worried about the "Love" thing, but actually there are only three pieces of "Love" included. Beautifully installed it's really the perfect show for the season, big colorful and full of smiles. I was impressed with his early work from the 60's, the assemblages and sculptures but also the paintings with the words, signs and symbols. A very strong graphic presence. Also liked the references that the curator made to Indiana being gay and how his sexuality was vital to his art along with his attachment to other gay artists ie. Hartley and Demuth who Indiana paid homage to in some of his own paintings. There was a time that this kind of biography would never have been mentioned let alone hinted at. I believe that the curator of the show Barbara Haskell was a pioneer in pointing out the homosexuality of Demuth and Hartley and how it was important in their work in the large shows she curated of their art at the Whitney. Also liked Indiana's use of poetry and his strong political awareness that might come as a surprise to some. His technique of using stencils (how did he get such straight lines) and his marvelous paper cut outs for costumes he designed for the "The Mother of Us All" an opera by Virgil Thomson with a libretto by Gertrude Stein that fill one of the smaller gallieries are also terrific. The works all look fresh and almost new, like he just did them yesterday instead of over 50 years ago. Definitely worth seeing.