louise on the left (coast)

If there ever was an artist whose work should be associated with Valentine's Day, it's Jim Dine with his unique use of the heart image. I used to own a print of the image below.   I think it's called "Pink Heart" and was done in 1983 as a Metropolitan Opera Centennial poster.  I discovered it in the late '80s and purchased it with great glee one day in the Lincoln Center Gift Shop -- on clearance!  (I was a waitress at the time, okay?) I loved that print and no matter where I lived I always seemed to find the perfect spot for it.   For me, what the print represented in its strong, but brightly hopeful way was a statement that beauty is first rooted in nature, but transformed into art only as a result of very hard work and skill.  And that the heart of this skill and labor is essentially impossible unless fueled by an even greater love. Truthfully, I haven't a clue if this is what the intended message was, but it made perfect sense to me and it always