PETER
MAX ON HIS THREE PASSIONS -
ART, MUSIC AND ASTRONOMY
 Peter
Max is one of those tireless workers who wakes up happy every day.
The world-famous pop artist has been busy for over four decades
and working non-stop since the sixties when his art and work embodied
all that was right (and groovy) in the world. It was in the heyday
of that era – Woodstock, hippies, The Beatles, and of course,
it was the time of “Peace and Love, man;” that his work
flourished and when he established a global fan base that’s
lasted to this day. Of this he said, “ ’66 to ’69,
were like, the years for me when I went from not knowing where I’m
gonna be in life, to becoming extremely popular. I had to adjust.
I mean, I never had that streak of popularity, so, “How Do
I act?” and “What do I say?”” I was on dozens
of covers of magazines, all the television shows, it was just unbelievable,”
adding, “I still remember the emotion of ‘why is this
happening on such a grandiose level?’”
 Perhaps
then, it would come as no surprise that this artist who represented
that decade, still practices the mind set and world view of that
era. Max practices yoga, has been a vegan for almost 12 years and
doesn’t smoke and drink coffee. Only as he recounts his life
and gives us snippets of his past, does one realize how much of
a global influence he has had and still has. He shared that he was
involved in Woodstock, bringing in Swami Satchidananda (Swamiji,
as he is known to his disciples) who “opened” Woodstock
with his message of peace. He recounts, “When I met the Swami
over 40 years ago, I thought to myself, I should bring him to America.
I was 28 years old, I brought him to my house, called up my friends;
and I would say that nine out of ten people totally gravitated towards
it.”
Speaking
with him is a humbling experience. Peter Max has no “handlers.”
In fact, he personally called us for this phone interview. You will
find no trace of artifice or bragging; and you tend to believe him
when he touts the virtues of practicing yoga, “You learn how
to enjoy life better; to support and give to others; how to walk
through life with a deeper, inner calm; to be your most humble.”
Not an easy task for someone who has met (and painted) so many amazing
people in his life, like The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Prince Rainier,
Queen Noor, the Dalai Lama – and that’s just the tip
of the iceberg.
He
gets most excited when he talks about working and his other project
and passion, music. “I have a full-time deejay working for
me. He sits on the other end of my “painting room” and
I give him a look and he starts playing music and we rate it A,
B or C. ‘A’ means I wanna use it, and ‘B,’
maybe I wanna use it, so we always have extra music on hand. In
just about a month, I’ll start editing it together.”
On
top of his music, there’s of course, his art. He still does
some 25 to 30 gallery shows every year. Aside from his personal
appearance here in Las Vegas, where he will debut the painting,
“Sage with Umbrella,” created exclusively for this in-gallery
appearance; he will have another one in about two month’s
time at the Clinton Library. Also in the works is a museum being
built for him in St. Petersburg, Florida, which is expected to open
next year. All this comes as no surprise from someone who says,
“If there’s one thing I’m sure of, is that I have
a tremendous will to create. When I walk to my big painting room,
there’s a feeling of anticipation and excitement of what might
happen today…” Spoken like a true artist.
-Rachel
M. Sugay
All
artwork on this page- © Peter Max
Meet
the Artist Peter Max, November 28-29, 2008; Friday, 7-9
p.m.; Saturday, 1-4 p.m. The Art of Peter Max Gallery, Terrace Level,
Forum Shops, Caesars Palace, 3500 South Las Vegas Boulevard. 702-644-7070.
The event is free and open to the public. Max will be autographing
and signing dedications on all artwork purchased throughout the
month of November.
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