...and HOPE.
Original Post Date: 04.20.2021. Revised: 07.19.2025.
Recently, I learned that Robert Indiana’s famous print LOVE began as a design for the Museum of Modern Art’s holiday card.
That was in 1965. By 1970, it had evolved into a piece of public art, and by 1973, it appeared on an eight cent U.S. postage stamp.
You can find full-scale versions of the 12x12x6 ft. sculpture in more than 50 cities around the world.
Recently, I acquired one too.
Mine is a mini-me version that stands about nine inches tall. I found it at one of those discount home goods stores that sells nothing you need but everything you want. Mine isn’t red, either. It’s more of an Art Deco South Miami Beach turquoise blue.
Maybe the manufacturer took artistic license. Maybe they had permission from the artist’s estate to reproduce it in new colors. Considering it cost me about as much as a cup of chai at Starbucks, I’m just grateful it didn’t have a typo.
LOVE has always been one of my favorite pieces of public art. First, because it’s typography. Second, because I’m fascinated by the story the artist tells within the boundaries of a square.
I like that the letters are coupled—two on the top row, two on the bottom. I’m drawn to the message hidden in the architecture:
The L looks like it’s gently nudging the O, tipping it just enough to spill all the love it holds onto anyone walking by.
The V balances on its apex, its arms stretching upward as if gathering strength to support whatever comes next.
And then there’s the E — exciting, exhilarating, exhausting, elusive, exasperating, energizing.
Indiana created another piece, too: HOPE. To me, the architecture is similar:
The H leans slightly into the O, like a quiet act of trust.
The O spills its contents, just like before.
The P wobbles a bit, holding hope on a single, precarious foot.
And the E — enigmatic, eager, enduring, elevating, empathic.
LOVE. HOPE. HOPE. LOVE.
That’s it, really. That’s it.
What words or symbols bring you comfort or inspiration? Share the ones you keep close — on your wall, your desk, or your heart.
“All You Need Is Love” — written by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney), © 1967, Northern Songs Ltd.
