Letter to the Max---Peter Max, That Is

While in college I was constantly drawing or painting or reading and writing. But whatever I was doing I was nearly always accompanied by my therapist, the sketchbook. 

This was the early 70s, tail end of the hippie era, and I was absorbed with making art. I even painted my sneakers bright yellow and red one year. I figured that if I ever felt glum and looked down, the bright colors would cheer me up.

Though my drawing was primarily pen and ink, I strongly identified with the work of Peter Max, who epitomized the pop and psychedelic art scene with cosmic themes and bold, vivid colors, not unlike my sneakers. His swirling patterns and uplifting symbols--stars and hearts, iconic mages of the Statue of Liiberty--made him a household name. Or perhaps it was the media that made him a household name because against the backdrop of the Vietnam War, student demonstrations, assassinations, bombings and race riots, it was nice to have someone making art that symbolized love, freedom and optimism.

There was a girl in my dorm whose mom would go to an Ashram in Toronto where Peter Max also went. She wasn't the one who prompted me to write him and send him one of my drawings, but it shows that he was a real person who did real things where other real people were. It also reveals something about the times.

Here is the letter he sent in response to mine.

There's a lesson in all this. The people whom you hear about or read about are real people. They write articles or stories or books, or create art, or dance or sing or hit home runs, star in movies, or make music, and you can find them, write to them and tell them how they've encouraged or inspired you. Sometimes you might get something special in return.* It's fun when that happens. Try it.

*Special "shout outs" to Roberto Clemente (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Mike Heron (Incredible String Band).