Indiana in Coenties Slip Jan 1963

William John Kennedy captured Robert Indiana in 1963 in his Coenties Slip studio, using the flat, bright light to emphasize shapes and textures. Indiana is seated, but it is the composition of colour and the shapes behind him that truly hold our attention. The artwork challenges our perception through its construction of layers. The mural in the background creates a dialogue with Indiana’s figure, where the contrast between the flatness of the mural and the three-dimensionality of Indiana plays with notions of depth and surface. Note how the mural uses a limited palette of blue and white to create shapes that flirt with representation, but ultimately remain abstract. This interplay between figure and ground destabilizes traditional portraiture, inviting us to consider how the context and the constructed environment contribute to our understanding. The photograph becomes a study in form and space, mirroring the intellectual climate of the time. The studio becomes a canvas, and Indiana, a thoughtful subject within it.