CLAES OLDENBURG Soft or hard, which is better?

Clothespin , Cor-Ten and stainless steels 13.7 x 3.7 x 1.4 m In what ways has Oldenburg taken the inside and put it outside? One author wrote that, “Oldenburg…[makes] architectural devices which act as question marks and point to exhaustion, decadence and cynicism in society.” In what ways does Clothespin do this?

Trowel I, 1971-76 Steel painted with polyurethane enamel (12.7 x 3.4 x 4.4 m) Typewriter Eraser 1999, painted stainless steel and Fiberglass Oldenburg said of art, “I am for art that takes its form from the lines of life itself, that twists and extends…and is heavy and coarse and blunt and sweet and stupid as life itself.” Do these works seems to encapsulate these ideas? Why/why not? In what ways do these works comment on the ‘American’ worldview?

Soft Bathtub (Model)—Ghost Version* (1966): acrylic and pencil on foam-filled canvas with wood, cord, and plaster. * Ghost version refers to the colour as Oldenburg would sometimes to the same sculpture , one in colour and one white. Why do you think that Oldenburg uses the bathtub as an inspiration for his sculpture? Like Rauschenberg, do you think that this work has the connotations of privacy, etc? Why?

Soft Pay-Telephone, 1963. Vinyl filed with kapok, mounted on painted wood, (118.2 x 48.3 x 22.8 cm.), Thinking about Oldenburg’s creation of the ‘soft sculptures’ how is he asking us to question the our perception of the banal? In what ways does this work seem to be a satire on American consumerism? Oldenburg used the phrase, ‘formal metamorphosis’ to describe his work. What do you think he meant by this?

Giant Hamburger (1962) Printed sailcloth stuffed with foam, h52 x w82 7/8 in Thinking about the traditional sense of what we consider sculpture, how has Oldenburg challenged our understanding of the medium. Do you think that there is meant to be a deep meaning or is there a sense of playfulness to his work? Why / why not? Floor Cake mixed media 60" x 9' x 48" 1962

7-UP , 1961 Enamel on plaster-soaked cloth on wire 55 x 39 1/4 x 5 1/2 in.

Soft Fur Good Humors, 1963. Fake fur filled with kapok; wood painted with enamel 4 units, each 5.1 x 24.1 x 48.2 cm

Oldenburg said of his art, "I am for an art that is political-erotic-mystical, that does something else than sit on its ass in a museum.” (1961) In what ways does this feed into the Pop Art philosophy that we have been studying so far? How do you think that Oldenburg’s art would have challenged the American status quo for fine art? Ice Bag - Scale C (1971) Ice Bag

Final words… Oldenburg said of his work: I wish to reflect things as thy are now and always without sentimentality. To face facts and learn their beauty.