Robert Indiana kept a series of illustrated journals during the late 1950s and 1960s, in which he discusses the development of his work as well as his daily life on Coenties Slip.
In his journal entry for October 29, 1962, Indiana writes that he gave The Red Diamond Die another coat of black, "the previous one being completely scorched by Lenore and her anxieties about Agnes." (At the time Agnes Martin was in treatment at the New York Psychiatric Institute.) He also records trimming the edges of The Blue Diamond Eight (renamed The Big 8), "bringing a neglected work back into focus, decidedly fairly determinedly against its abandonment, and thinking [that] It should be pushed further [to] signdom, shall we say, and away from its suggestions of a purely plastic expression—or nearly so."
Indiana notes sorting through his drawings, finding those he wanted to set aside for gallerist Rolf Nelson, and preparing them to be taken to the gallery. He then went out to buy turpentine, lights, a neon tube for J. (his partner, fashion designer John Kloss), staples (in preparation of his next work), and two new notched keys. Upon return he records putting together the first stretcher of a new set of four, "set [to] be 'The Black and White American Dream #4'" (later to become The Beware-Danger American Dream #4).
Indiana's journals frequency reference current events, here the artist writes "Cuban blockade called out temporarily for U Thant’s visit [to] Cuba. Kennedy now a hero," referencing the Secretary-General of the United Nation and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
On the side of the journal page is a note recording a call from Arthur Carr (a clinical psychologist and art collector), who informed him that the latest issue of Art International contained two ads mentioning him, one for Dwan Gallery (where a work of his would be exhibited in My Country ‘Tis of Thee, opening in November) and one for Stable Gallery (where he currently had a solo exhibition). The artist also writes that Irving Sandler "mentions Indiana, discusses Ellsworth Kelly" (Sandler's review of Indiana's show at the Stable Gallery was published in the New York Post Magazine on October 28).
