Peter Max flirts with idea of local 'Southern studio'
The pop art icon seems to have developed an affinity for the city. "I just love St. Pete," he says.
By MARY JANE PARK
Published January 18, 2006
Could pop icon Peter Max be the next artist to bring a permanent collection to St. Petersburg?
"I sure have a wish to do it," he said in a telephone interview, envisioning a "little Southern studio. Like everything else, it takes a lot of work."
Max knows Jimmy Aviram, who is developing Art Village, a residential and retail project between First avenues N and S, Eighth and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. streets.
"We're friends," Max said of Aviram, "and we have to still discuss what will happen."
Glass creator Dale Chihuly, another Aviram acquaintance, already has committed to establish a collection at the Arts Center, which will anchor the complex and administer the collection.
The 68-year-old Max, who lives in New York, returns to St. Petersburg and the Arts Center this weekend, where his newest works can be purchased.
In November, he was featured at several events in St. Petersburg and Tampa that raised $400,000 for children's educational programs at the Museum of Fine Arts, the Arts Center and Soulful Arts Dance Academy. They also are the beneficiaries of the current sale.
"I had such a nice time," Max said. "I enjoyed the people tremendously. I just love St. Pete."
Max's colorful creations became iconic in the 1960s. He was classically trained at the Art Students League of New York.
His mentor was Frank J. Riley, who was a classmate of Norman Rockwell's at the ASL. Riley was "very traditional, very old-fashioned. He used to say, "Don't ever get creative on me.' I was a realist, and I always thought realism was the pinnacle of fine art."
Max couldn't get work, however. Realists wanted the black-and-white portraits of the photographers of the day, Richard Avedon, Horst P. Horst, Irving Penn and Francesco Scavullo.
One day, putting his drawings back into a portfolio at the conclusion of another fruitless job interview, Max noticed that the creative director who had just dismissed him had spied some of his doodlings.
"I was so caught up in being correct that I didn't want anybody to see them, my little drawings of stars and characters. The man went crazy. He called everybody over."
After three months without a job, Max left the agency with six assignments that were equivalent to about $2,000, roughly 10 times that in today's currency, he said.
"When I delivered the commissions, these guys were flipping, jumping up and down."
In the next 16 months, Max said, "Everybody wanted me because of my creativity." He won dozens of awards, became financially comfortable and met countless celebrities.
He began to license his designs, which became ubiquitous. Fearing he would become recognized more for his product lines than for his art, he pulled back and went into retreat until the late 1980s.
Max calls himself a "creative black belt" who rarely is idle. He makes 50 appearances a year, many of them fundraisers for children.
"You never hear much about St. Petersburg," he said. "That place is so beautiful. Of all the cities I know I'm going to (in 2006), this is the one I'm really looking forward to."
IF YOU GOPeter Max's work is on exhibit and for sale through Sunday at the Arts Center, 719 Central Ave., St. Petersburg. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Max will make personal appearances 6-9 p.m. Friday, 4-7 p.m. Saturday and 1-3 p.m. Sunday. Information: 822-7872.