To the 'MAX'

No other artist captured the spirit of the '60s the way Peter Max did - the whole love, peace and happiness vibe, the total psychedelic trippiness of it all.

Though born a Libra, Peter Max was the perfect visual chronicler of the Age of Aquarius.

He came along at the right time with the right style and the right sensibilities.

Everyone, it seemed, could relate to his art: hippies, housewives, older people, school children. His posters papered the walls of college dorms and teenagers' bedrooms. His artwork appeared on magazine covers, postage stamps, Manhattan telephone books, clocks, wristwatches, bed sheets and jeans.

On Feb. 7 and 8, Mr. Max and 125 pieces of his original artwork — including a football helmet, a baseball cap and a guitar bearing his unmistakable flair — will be at Road Show Company, 370 12th Avenue South in Naples. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through Saturday; Mr. Max will be in attendance from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, and from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8, which is when the show closes.

COURTESY IMAGE Love by Peter Max.

A wonderful, whimsical world

Mr. Max's groovy world was populated with stars, planets, rainbows, suns, flowers, hearts, birds and mystical people. It was uplifting and optimistic, as if everyone had stepped into a kaleidoscope. And the colors! Neon, fluorescent, bold.

Mr. Max, 71, was a modern-day Fauvist; his skies weren't blue but flamingo pink, lemon yellow or tangerine.

With his art, he tapped into something universal.

"It was around '69," he said last week in a telephone interview from his studio in New York City. "Man went to the moon in '69. I loved stars, planets and cosmic characters. So I had that. I loved the flat colors… I drew really well and had a good knowledge of composition.

"Woodstock was happening. The psychedelic age was happening. And somehow, I fit. My artwork fit the culture of the youth market, and that was it."

He coined the term "Be-in" when he created a poster for a gathering that drew several hundred thousand people to Central Park. And he introduced yoga to America.

COURTESY IMAGE Brushes by Peter Max.

When he was invited to be on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," he said, he thought, "This is one-in-amillion, and it will never, never happen again." He was also on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

"When Ed Sullivan called up, I thought, 'This is definitely mindboggling, definitely will never happen again.'"

Then Mr. Sullivan did a one-hour TV special on Mr. Max.

"Can you imagine?" he said. "I couldn't believe it.

"Suddenly I was on every magazine cover you can imagine. And from being a scared, frightened young artist, not knowing where to go, how to make a living, I became the toast of the town, so to speak. Everybody wanted my work. It took me literally a few years to get used to it. It just kept going.

"It was an amazing feeling of satisfaction and surprise, all at the same time… I was surprised and shocked that this was happening to me."

He was afraid of running out of money, but the work kept coming.

Then one day he was on top of the presses, mixing colors for a poster, when the owner of the printing press came up to him and made him an offer: If Mr. Max supplied the artwork, he'd print posters, and they'd split the profits 50-50.

He agreed.

He was astounded when, within the next seven months, he sold seven million posters.

Then Life magazine called and did an eight-page cover story about him.

His work was iconic: whimsical figures outlined in black, like a fantastical comic book.

Comics make an impression

Mr. Max first encountered American comics when he was 6 or 7, living in Shanghai, China, with his family. He and his father passed a street vendor with 50 or 60 books in front of him. The covers were so colorful, Mr. Max wanted them. He started to cry, so his father quickly purchased all the books for him, two bags full.

When they were all emptied out on a table, he was surprised to discover they were American comic books: Captain Marvel, Batman, Plastic Man. "It left a very big impression on me, the look of the covers," he said. "It never left me."

He studied realism at the Art Students League with Frank J. Reilly, who'd studied alongside Norman Rockwell. But when he left school, he discovered that people didn't want realism.

"They said: 'Realism is wonderful. You paint like the old masters. But today if we need realism, we just get photography. We don't need realism anymore,'" he recalled. "I was frightened and sad and heartbroken at the same time."

Eventually, because of his love of astronomy, he began drawing planets and stars. He mixed his love of comic books and his yoga philosophy into his art as well.

Love all, serve all

Mr. Max first learned about yoga in 1966, when he met the Swami Satchidananda in Paris. He immediately brought him to the United States and opened a yoga center, where the Swami taught daily.

Soon they had opened dozens of yoga centers.

"This was one year before the Beatles met the Maharishi," he said. "George (Harrison) and I became friends because of the yoga. We used to talk about God, loving, serving others, the purpose of life… these types of questions come about when you learn yoga.

"Love all, serve all… It's a great line from yoga. I live to serve."

Mr. Max's very work is imbued with that philosophy.

"In a way, I'm not consciously doing it," he said. "I look at my rectangular shape, where I always make my art, whether it's a canvas or large paper… I like the images to be pleasant and invigorating. I don't want them to be depressing or negative.

"And so in some ways, the yoga is in there, is part of my work. The color blends are just right. It's all to bring pleasantness with a sort of visual excitement. I want my art to always have a positive effect."

After a few years, he realized he didn't want to do as many products.

"Every young kid wore my blue jeans. Every young kid had a Peter Max clock," he said. "So I gave it up."

He honored all his contracts and then took a retreat. During the '70s, he rediscovered the joy of drawing and painting.

"I took my art into an extremely funloving (space)," he said. "I enjoyed it. I made a lot of visual breakthroughs."

When he returned, he had a new style, a freer, looser way of painting. In 1976, he published "Peter Max Paints America" to commemorate the Bicentennial. He spearheaded the campaign to restore the Statue of Liberty (an image of the statue, her face reflecting the colors of fireworks about her, was on the cover of U.S. News & World Report).

He painted portraits of presidents, including 100 Clintons. Most recently, he painted 44 portraits of President Barack Obama, because he's the 44th president.

In the late '80s, Mr. Max opened a new 40,000 square-foot studio in New York City near Lincoln Center. His staff of approximately 100 includes a fulltime DJ who plays music for him when he paints. He listens to everything from Led Zeppelin and rock 'n' roll to Jeff Lorber in jazz, Chick Corea, fusion jazz and be-bop.

He hopes to combine his art with the music he loves.

"My big wish is that very shortly, one day soon, I'm going to do an animated movie and use all the music," he said.

The '60s might be long over, but their spirit still lives on in Peter Max's work.

If you go

 

>>What: "Colors of a Better World," Peter Max and his artwork

>>Where: Road Show Company, 370 12th Avenue South, Naples

>>When: Gallery is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through Saturday, Feb. 7, and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8. Mr. Max will be on hand from 6-9 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday. >>Cost: Free, but RSVPs are appreciated >>Info: (888) 513-8385