Robert Indiana documentary maker on his time with the artist famous for his Love sculptures
Dale Schierholt’s remastered 2009 film receives its world premiere on Friday at the Asia Society Hong Kong. He recalls the year he spent filming interviews with the artist at his home and ‘self-curated museum’ in the US state of Maine
When news broke of American artist Robert Indiana’s death on May 19 at the age of 89, filmmaker Dale Schierholt took the opportunity to remaster his documentary about the man best known for his Love sculptures.
“It was intense work, but it was good to see Bob again and relive that time with him,” says Schierholt, who interviewed Indiana in 2007 at Star of Hope, the artist’s home in Vinalhaven, in the US state of Maine.
The filmmaker, who is based in California, remastered the documentary in high definition and added a bit more footage. The Asia Society will hold the global premiere of this enhanced version in Hong Kong on Friday. Schierholt will answer questions via Skype following the screening.
In the documentary, which is just under an hour long, Indiana talks about his life, how he became interested in art at a young age, and how he evolved from a figurative painter into an artist best known for bold images using colours and words.
Viewers learn that Indiana’s family name was really Clark, discover why he changed it to the name of the US state in which he was born and how he met fellow artist Ellsworth Kelly, who it’s believed was his lover. Indiana explains that he is “painting his own history” – his words, colours and designs referring to different periods in his life, and popping up in different ways throughout his oeuvre.