A Park West Gallery featured artist Peter Max

Peter Max emerged as a powerful force in the Art World as an American illustrator and graphic artist with paintings on exhibition in hundreds of museums and galleries worldwide, Peter Max and his vibrant colors have become part of the fabric of contemporary culture.His work speaks for itself as a part of the American pop-culture scene influencing generations of art enthusiasts. In addition to being called a Pop Icon, Max has been successively called, Neo Fauvist, Abstract Expressionist and the United States “Painter Laureate.” The artist has had the distinct honor of painting the last seven Presidents of the United States and the world’s best loved celebrities, among them the young sensation Taylor Swift.So much could be said about Peter Max as an artist, but what comes across very clear is his immense love for American culture, and appreciation for the various art forms that have influenced his work.RAINE: How has living in Paris influenced your art?MAX: Well, I got influences from Paris, but also from everywhere—I was so lucky. When I was a little boy, maybe 2 or 3 years old, although he was very successful business man, my father used to draw a little bit. I thought I would fiddle around with drawing too and he liked it. I remember one day my mother got me these crayons, and to the left of where my father used to sit was a very big beautiful peach wall. I took my crayons and I went to draw on the wall, and my mother said, “no, no, don’t draw on the wall,” and my father said, “no, no let him.” He encouraged me. Thus, I drew and added to it every day and after four or five days, it was maybe ten feet wide. When anyone came to the house, my mother would show it off, and this built me up. It developed my love for art and being recognized for it.RAINE: When you think of your art now, how does it influence present day art or the perception of the world?MAX: Well you know it is interesting, we are living today of course in an age of media—media is all around us. You can’t go out of your house without being touched by media. As you walk out outside there are newspapers on the doorstep. As you go further there are cars with advertising on them. You go to the corner and there is a guy selling 40 different newspapers and perhaps 60 or 80 magazines. You go to your television set and you’ve got like about 1000 different channels.When I was a little kid living in China, we got our first radio and there were two or three Chinese stations. One day, I turned up the radio, and they were playing American music and I asked my mother, “what is that,” and my mother said, “oh, it’s an American station,” and after that, I went to that station every day. That was when I fell in love with American culture!Then American soldiers came to Shanghai. My father had a tenant who had a 19 year old daughter and the word was out, and people were talking about how she was going out with an American soldier. Then I saw him pick up the girl, and I guess he took her out and she introduced me to him. I remember that the guy was chewing gum, and he said to me, “hey kid, what’s happening!” I just liked the way he talked to me, it sounded so cool! that was when I fell in love with American soldiers and all the style that they had and the freedom they represented. I became the biggest American fan ever.Also, my friend’s father owned a Chinese theatre and he converted it into a movie theatre, so I would watch movies, three or five days a week. I would go every day to the movies. I love American culture, I would watch Lionel Hampton and Betty Goodman, I enjoyed the way they would play music as well as American jazz. I was just completely taken away by what came out of this beautiful country called America—jazz, bee-bop and blues.RAINE: How do you think your s art is influencing American Culture?PETER MAX: It is right there with the music (talking about his art). I was very lucky, when 8 I was fairly young; I was maybe 23 years old when Life Magazine did a cover of me and it had 11 pages inside. Since Life Magazine, from when I was 23 until today, I have had 2600 magazine covers.RAINE: What is your point of inspiration? MAX: All that has to happen is that I have this wish and will to be creative. I put the canvas on the easel, I open my paints and there I am. I have a bunch of brushes and the music begins playing and I just go at it. I don’t even plan what to do. You know it’s like dancing on the floor, you don’t know what steps to take and what you will be doing five minutes from now. You just go at it and let it happen.RAINE: What are some of your other interests?MAX: I am very much into creativity, color, composition and yoga—meditation. I love all of that stuff!