By Michael G. Williams

THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

If you had to think of one person that symbolizes American pop art, you’d be right on the money with painter Peter Max. Over the last 40 years, he’s established himself as a fixture of American pop culture, and there’s a good chance that you’ve seen his artwork at some point in this period.

That’s because it appears just about everywhere imaginable. It’s on Continental Airlines’ Boeing 777 jumbo jet, U.S. postage stamps; the 600-foot stage for the Woodstock Music Festival, and a massive mural unveiled at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Max has also been the official artist for five Super Bowls, six Grammy Awards, The World Series, World Cup USA and the United Nations Earth Summit.

He’s painted portraits for the last six U.S. Presidents and, as the nation’s “Painter Laureate,” he’s played an active role in environmental and human rights issues, as well as post-9/11 charities like the September 11 Fund and the Survivors Fund. In fact, Max created the American Heroes project, which is a collection of 356 portraits of the firefighters lost in 2001, including those of September 11.