Peter Max

Peter Max is what one may call a genius of color. Almost every one of his paintings and designs are filled with an array of bright, loud colors which are shouting for attention. Max, whose work ranges from politics to music and sports, uses color to emphasize and enhance the item which he is painting.

In one of his newer pieces “Obama 44”, Max painted 44 portraits of Barack Obama in multi-colored panels. The piece, which honors America’s 44th president, looks Andy Warhol-esque with multiple panels featuring the same picture but with the varying element of color. Max is able to create unity through varied repetition in this painting by using variations of color on a constant theme of portraits of the same person. Max’s painting is fun yet remains aesthetically pleasing because of his differentiating color scheme.

Max also uses a grid as a tool for organizing a framework for his painting. Max’s grid has the underlying feeling of a checkerboard; the 44 portraits are assembled into four rows and ten columns, creating an overall rectangular shape. The unpredictable rhythm of color gives interest to the organized and simple layout of the painting. Because an individual portrait of Barack Obama may seem ordinary, Max uses a variety of colors and a multitude of paintings to create attention and invite the viewer to look more closely at his piece. “Obama 44” is a great example of visual unity because the whole piece predominates over the individual parts. Although when one looks closely, he or she can appreciate the uniqueness and quality of each portrait.

Peter Max, like any designer, effectively knows how to achieve unity in order to create visually pleasing and remarkable works of art.