Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/310878
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF PETER MAX (THE TONIGHT SHOW ); TIME & LIFE PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES (STARR). OPPOSITE PAGE: ERIC RYAN ANDERSON (MAX) A longtime friend of the Beatles, Max painted their portraits, including Ringo Starr's (ABOVE). Max visited The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (LEFT) in the late 1960s. thing because it's an emblem; it got so much [attention]. Then I've painted so many unbelievable people, like the Dalai Lama, John F. Kennedy—close to 800 portraits. You've also painted portraits of all of the Beatles, who just celebrated 50 years in America. What's your rela- tionship with the band? I met John [Lennon] way, way back, and I was best friends with Yoko Ono. One day I read in the paper that my little friend Yoko was going out with John. I knew John, I knew Yoko; I could have introduced them in a second. We used to go to Central Park. We'd walk around, talk, and sing songs. Here in your studio, you have a colorful piano that's signed "To Peter, Love Ringo…." I did a Baldwin piano for Ringo Starr, and he loved it. Then Baldwin called me and said, "We love it so much, we're going to send you a piano." Two days later, they deliver it, the guys assemble it, and I rolled out my paints and started painting the piano beautiful colors. Just as I was finishing, Ringo came by. He had been uptown and wanted to say thanks; instead he said, "I like yours better!" and I said, "No, Ringo, yours is the first; it's the nic- est." He asked if I had paints, and I said, "Do I have paints?" We rolled out a cart of paints, and he wrote, "To Peter, love Ringo," followed by a star. There's a photo on top of it of you and Ringo. Was it another famous Beatle, Paul McCartney, who turned you on to vegetarianism? Paul and I became vegetarian at the same time. I've been a vegetarian now for over 40 years. I've had everybody up here in the studio—from Mick Jagger to R ingo to Paul McCartney. They're all my friends. I've been very lucky. Is it true that you also have a DJ who works here in your studio? Yes—Joe. He plays all good contemporary music—jazz, bebop, fusion jazz, rock 'n' roll. When I start painting, the music is on; I'm in the groove. Music inspires my whole will to paint, the will to be creative—it fuels the creativity. You worked wit h George Harrison on t he Integ ral Yoga Inst itute, a yoga center and ashram in New York based on t he teachings of Sri Swami Satchidananda . Did George int roduce you to t he Swami? No, George was involved with the Maharishi out of England. George and I talked about my Satchidananda and his Maharishi, and we introduced each other to the other guys. The institute teaches how to go into medita- tion, get your mind focused, do stretching, become a vegan—a lot of health, behavioral, and mental benefits that have changed my whole life. How did you first meet Swami Satchidananda? Conrad Rooks, who was the heir of Avon cosmetics, invited me to Paris to help him with the colors on a film he was making. So I went to Paris. Conrad picked me up from the airport, and we were in the hotel restaurant when in came the Swami— long beard, beautiful long black hair, gorgeous eyes— and Conrad introduced me to him. After spending a day with the Swami, I knew I had to bring him to New York. All my hippie buddies were taking LSD, and I was thinking, This is the man we need to be with, not this other stuff. I brought him to America [in 1966], and I opened yoga centers for him. THE BEST IS YET TO COME Over your career, you've accomplished so much. What is some- thing you have yet to tackle? I've been listening to music intensely my whole life—especially lately because I've been collecting music for films and animations. Characters and stories—I have so many; the only thing I hadn't collected was music, so I called my friends—Paul McCartney, R ingo Starr, Bon Jovi. Out of 200,000 pieces of music, I selected about 3,000 or 4,000 that I adore. Have you ever thought about retiring? I've been retired since I was 20. [Laughs] Retiring is getting to do com- pletely what you love, right? It's not like sitting in a chair somewhere. This is a nice life—it's creative, colors, music, and people. I love it. AP ASPENPEAK-MAGAZINE.COM 147 144-147_AP_F_PeterMax_V3_SUM_FALL_14.indd 147 5/6/14 5:19 PM