Peter Max

Peter Max
Peter Max - 1988
Born	October 19, 1937 (1937-10-19) Berlin, Germany
Nationality	American (United States)
Field	Painting, Pop Art
Training	Art Students League of New York
Movement	Pop Art
Works	LOVE (1968)

Peter Max (born Peter Max Finkelstein, October 19, 1937) is a German-born Jewish American illustrator and graphic artist. At first, works in this style appeared on posters and were seen on the walls of college dorms all across America. Max then became fascinated with new printing techniques that allowed for four-color reproduction on product merchandise. Following his success with a line of art clocks for General Electric, Max’s art was licensed by 72 corporations and he had become a household name. In September 1969 Max appeared on the cover of Life Magazine with an eight-page feature article as well as the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and the Ed Sullivan Show.

Biography

Childhood

Peter Max's childhood began when he and his parents fled Nazi Germany, (Berlin, Germany) in 1938 to escape the Holocaust and traveled to Shanghai, China, where they lived for the next ten years. In 1948, the family moved to Haifa, Israel where they lived for several years. From Israel, the family continued moving westward and stopped in Paris for several months --an experience greatly enriched Peter’s appreciation of art and which included him taking classes at the Louvre museum.

The 1950s

Peter and his parents first settled in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn 1953 attending Lafayette High School (New York City). In 1956, Max began his formal art training at the Art Students League of New York in Manhattan, studying anatomy, figure drawing and composition under Frank J. Reilly who himself had studied at the League alongside Norman Rockwell

The 1960s

In 1962 Max started a small Manhattan arts studio with friend Tom Daly known as "The Daly & Max Studio." Daly and Max were joined by friend and mentor Don Rubbo, and the three worked as a group on books and advertising for which they received industry recognition for their work. Much of their work incorporated antique photographic images as elements of collage. Max's interest in astronomy contributed to his self described "Cosmic 60's" period which featured what became identified as psychedelic, counter culture imagery. Max's art was popularized nationally through TV commercials such as his 1968 "un cola" ad for the soft drink 7-UP which helped drive sales of his very profitable art posters and other merchandise. He reportedly appeared on the Tonight Show in 1968. He was featured on the cover of LIFE magazine's 9-5-1969 edition under with the heading "Peter Max: Portrait of the artist as a very rich man."

The 1970s

U.S. postage stamp, featuring artwork by Peter Max, that commemorated Expo '74.

In 1970, many of Max's products and posters were featured in the exhibition "The World of Peter Max" which opened at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco. The US Postal Service commissioned Max to create the first 10¢ postage stamp to commemorate the Expo '74 World's Fair in Spokane, Washington. July 4, 1976, Max began his Statue of Liberty series leading to his efforts with Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca to help spearhead the restoration of the statue.

1976 also saw the commissioning of Peter Max Paints America by the ASEA of Sweden. The book project commemorated America's bicentennial and included the following foreword. "Peter Max Paints America is based on works of art commissioned by ASEA of Sweden on the 200th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, in sincere recognition of the historic bonds of friendship between the people of Sweden and the people of the United States, recalling that Sweden was one of the first countries to extend its hand in friendship to the new nation."

The 1980s to present

Official artist for many major events including Grammy Awards, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Super Bowl and others.

He also hosted the Xpress Peter Max Coloring Contest in the St. Petersburg Times in November 2005. The contest, located in St. Petersburg, Florida, was a contest for children to color in a sketch by Max. Of 800 entries, 90 were sent to Max, who chose a grand prize winner, a runner-up and 10 honorable mentions in each of the three age categories: 5-8, 9-13 and 14-18. Grand prize winners and runners-up received a piece of original art by Max, presented to them at the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. Each honorable mention student received a signed Peter Max poster.

Work

Max's art work was first identified as having been a popular part of the counter culture and psychedelic movements in graphic design during the late 1960's and early 1970's. His work was both influenced by, as well as widely imitated by, others in the field of commercial illustration.

Max works in multiple media including painting, drawing, collage, print making, sculpture, video and digital imagery. He also includes "mass media" as being another "canvas" for his creative expression.

Max often uses patriotic American icons and symbols in his artwork. He has created paintings of presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush in addition to his 100 Clintons, --a multiple portrait installation. His work often features images of celebrities, politicians, athletes and sporting events and other pop culture subjects. His artwork was featured on CBS's The Early Show where his "44 Obamas," commemorating the 44th President of The United States, was debuted.

Controversy

Yellow Submarine

Although Max's style and the animation style of the Beatles film Yellow Submarine appear to closely resemble each other, Max was not part of the film's production. However, according to Yellow Submarine expert Dr. Robert "Bob" Hieronimus, Max claims that prior to going into production, producer Al Brodax approached him to work on the film, and Max believes that his style influenced the film's artwork (as opposed to the claims of others that the opposite is in fact the case). Despite his lack of any actual involvement in the film's creation, Max has often been introduced as its creator at personal appearances in the media. Hieronimus set the record straight when he wrote the following:

"The Father of Yellow Submarine Art died on Tuesday, the 21st of July 2009 in Stuttgart, and for the uninitiated, no, we’re not talking about Peter Max. Although the first time I talked to Heinz Edelmann in 1993 he declared the Yellow Submarine felt like an albatross around his neck, and he was tired of talking about it, he was still irritated that Peter Max had managed to usurp his title in mass consciousness as the assumed creator of the Yellow Submarine. Unlike Edelmann, Max was a master at self-promotion, and because he continually linked himself to the Beatles, and refused to correct interviewers who mistakenly assumed he designed Yellow Submarine, the myth grew and perpetuated on itself." He further wrote "Edelmann’s style was far more satiric, dark, and biting than the bubbly fluff produced by Max, and the unfair comparison can only be made by the ill informed." Heinz Edelemann is credited as having been art director for the movie and Max does not appear among those associated with it's creation[[2]]

Tax Evasion

In the early 1990's a disgruntled ex-employee was pressed by the IRS and made a deal with the IRS to focus an investigation on Max. The IRS investigated the fiscal years 1986-1992 and what they found for the most part was that Mr. Max kept accurate and detailed accounting. 1986-1992 were prolific and profitable years for Max- his limited Editions,Posters and Original paintings were popular and in great demand. The Art of Peter Max employed a complete industry-from Art Galleries famous galleries-Hanson Art Galleries,Dyansen Art Galleries-coast to coast-including Hawaii,across the world-Japan,China,England.Every where Peter went- from gallery shows to TV shows, and events- he drew a large fan base. Mr. Max was saddled with all sorts of legal fees- a preliminary dollar amount for legal counsel for five years was $6 million US dollars. Near the end, Mr. Max sought probably the best legal mind's advice, and ended the matter with a plea deal. In the end, the disgruntled ex-employee got what he wanted- the IRS to drop charges on him, pursue Max, and hurt thousands of people employed by the Art of Peter Max. The question persists- was Mr. Max Guilty of a crime? There was no trial, the Government took many years to indict Mr. Max(1990 first hints of investigation until 1996), From 1986-1992 the government will tell you that Mr.Max had extremely high profits, which Mr. Max paid large sums of corporate taxes and personal taxes, forgotten is the accountant who felt that the government had changed their interpretation of the tax code to ensnare Mr. Max, and finally to Judge Kimba M. Wood's sentence as a reflection that an error was made, and not a crime. In 1996 Peter Max was charged with failing to report $1.1 million in art sales to the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS accused Max and his accountant in an 11 count conspiracy to conceal and evade federal income taxes and falsifying records. The Government claimed Max had concealed large sums of cash which he later used along with bartered artworks and other services in exchange for real estate in Southampton, the Virgin Islands, Woodstock, NY and Buckingham County, VA. Under the terms of a settlement with the IRS on November 10, 1997, Max plead guilty to "a charge of conspiracy to defraud the I.R.S. and a charge of tax evasion."In his written statement submitted as part of the plea agreement Max confessed "I knowingly and intentionally committed the acts ... and I knew that what I was doing was against the law." He received a sentence of two months in prison (work release), ordered to perform 800 hours of community service and ordered to pay a $30,000 fine.

Corvette Collection

In 1990 Max purchased a collection of 36 Chevrolet Corvettes dating from 1953 to 1988 (one for each year) which had been won by a carpenter on Long Island in a VH1 contest. Max recounts "I get the biggest PR dream I’ve ever had,” he says. “Suddenly I see my Peter Max Corvettes coming out onto a football field with cheerleaders on top. There are 60,000 people cheering, screaming. A guy in front of me is screaming to the guy behind me—he’s holding a frankfurter and mustard is dripping down his sleeve, I see this in my dream— he’s screaming right at me, looking through me, ‘It’s Peter Max’s cars, man!’” However, the collection has remained in storage and neglected due to lack of funding for the project.

Sales on Cruise Ships

Max is one of many artists who have an ongoing relationships with dealers that conduct art auctions aboard cruise ships. Though Mr. Max has not been personally accused of any wrongdoing, these auctions on the high seas continue to result in complaints and lawsuits alleging that many artworks --including some by Max-- are being sold to unsuspecting buyers at greatly inflated prices Max has been commissioned to design a painting for the hull of the Norwegian Cruise Line's "Breakaway."

Personal life

Peter Max claims to be a passionate environmentalist ever since reportedly having created the first "Earth Day" poster in 1970. He is also purported to be a defender of human and animal rights. His support for these causes appear to be primarily through the donations of his artworks which are used for charitable fundraisers which create favorable awareness for these organizations as well as himself.

Peter Max currently lives in New York City with his wife, Mary Max.

References

• http://www.aejv.com/max-bio.htm
• http://www.artlover.org/more_art/artist_bios/max-bio.html
• 'It's Peter Max's Car, Man!'
• Imagine the artistry

External links

• PeterMax.com - The Official Peter Max Web Site with listings of Galleries and Exhibitions.
• Facebook.com - The Official Facebook fan page.
• Twitter.com The Official Peter Max Twitter page.
• MySpace.com - The Official Peter Max MySpace page.
• Peter Max on Artcyclopedia