A Passion Induced By Humanity

9 Pages 2299 Words

“My passion is art. I draw all day long. It’s not my stress relief; it’s just my passion” (Karkabi). This said by an artist of generations, Peter Max. His work spans decades from the 1960’s to modern times. A very interesting individual, his life has been filled with greatness, wonder, and love. Through many days of travel and years of passionately working in his studio Peter has become an American icon. Of the thousands of requests Peter gets for posters, he is drawn to those that synchronize with his own concerns: environmental, human, and animal rights (“Peter’s Biography”)
He started a series of works called the Better World series and created a painting called, “I Love the World,” depicting an angel embracing the planet. This painting was inspired by his backstage experience at the Live Aid concert in 1985 (“Peter’s Biography”). He painted it in 1997 with acrylic on serigraph. The painting evokes a mystical feeling that is well understood after learning of his life experiences.
Peter’s expressionistic style has evolved over several years. This particular painting has a very engaging story behind it. In 1985 there was a Live Aid concert held to raise money for victims of the famine in Ethiopia (“Live”). It is often referred to as a magical moment in the history of music because of the love and humanity that was present between the performers and audience (“Peter’s Biography”). Peter’s story is this: “I was standing backstage with the musicians; I was the only artist. It was very heartfelt because they were doing a concert to help the people in Ethiopia. There we were in Philadelphia, thousands of kids rocking, 60,000 people in the audience…Then some producer had called all the musicians to the front stage to sing “We are the World” and I was left alone backstage, so I pulled out my [sketch] pad and I drew an angel hugging the world. That was my little expression...