Four Panel Love

Robert Indiana's word-symbol remains a potent icon of the Sixties generation. Designed in oversized Roman lettering, this verbal-visual figuration functions primarily as a sign or hieroglyph. The word love is transmitted as an idea, rather than as a text. Word and image become inextricably locked in the mind. Four Panel Love is part of an extensive series of prints, paintings, and sculpture that originated with Indiana's 1964 design for a Christmas card. Through repetition, variation, and unauthorized reproduction, this simple trope has taken on a life of its own and remains recognized around the world.