The second chosen artwork is by artist Peter Max and shows his version of the iconic Mona Lisa. Peter Max's versions are titled Mona Lisa, Version I #4 and Mona Lisa, Version I #5 respectively. The Mona Lisa is one of the most iconic and most recognized portraits in the world. This particular portrait is known for the woman's mysterious smile and the unknown identity of the woman in the portrait. Through Max's versions of the famous painting, he encourages viewers to re-examine and interpret the embodiment of the woman's beautiful features and enigmatic gaze. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One way that can help in analyzing these works is biographical analysis. There is numerous speculation about the ambiguity of the Mona Lisa and the story that comes with it. To analyze Max's work, more information would be needed to better understand why he chose to create his own versions of the iconic Mona Lisa painting. In Peter Max's versions of this iconic portrait, he uses a variety of colors and tones, and altering the background of the portrait can also distort the interpretation or meaning of the original. After doing more research on this particular artist, he is mostly well known as a pop culture icon. He inspired many with his use of bold colors, imagery, and an artistic diversity unusual in American culture. Most of his work features icons and symbols, which in this case uses the Mona Lisa icon. Many of his paintings included American icons and symbols such as Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush and others. In his work he also features images of famous celebrities, politicians and other subjects and events from popular culture. Now that I know more background information about the artist, my interpretation of Max's Mona Lisa, Version I #4 and Mona Lisa, Version I #5 is to simply celebrate the famous portrait and its display of high culture as it still remains popular after centuries due to the ambiguous symbolism within the Mona Lisa painting. In my opinion and through observations, the work seems to be calculated. Since Max is known for using vibrant colors and displaying most or all colors of the spectrum. I believe Peter Max's purpose in creating these works of art was to transform the ordinary and change ideas about art as a whole. As a pop culture artist, the goal was to blur the lines between low and high culture and ensure that art can be borrowed from virtually anywhere, hence the fact that Max borrows the majority of his work from pop culture events or subjects. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The question that was brought to my attention is whether there is any purpose to the use of colors and why those colors in particular. Are they unrelated to the interpretation or meaning of the original painting? Is the background in any way significant in these works? In addition to highlighting low and high culture and its boundaries, it is possible to make a thoughtful statement about the artist's goal as it serves his purpose by using a very familiar painting that is known throughout the world and recognizable across many generations. Max was able to borrow an idea and was inspired to refresh this famous painting from centuries ago and made something new out of it.