Claes Oldenburg was a Swedish-American artist born in 1929 who was influential in the Pop Art movement of the 1960s. He is known for his large-scale sculptures that depict everyday objects in exaggerated sizes and unusual materials. One of his most famous works is Knife Ship I, a 31-foot tall sculpture of a knife embedded in a ship made of vinyl-covered wood, steel and aluminum. Oldenburg also created sculptures of food, like his 1962 work Glass Case with Pies, which depicted assorted pies enclosed in a glass case.

1. CLAY & CLAES
• Claes Oldenburg was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1929. He
moved to America at the age of 1. He grew up in Chicago and
attended the Chicago Institute of Art. Claes was very influential in
the Pop Art Movement that glorified popular culture of the 1960’s.
Pop Art is defined as a movement that glorified the realities of life
or popular culture of the time. It spoke visually of the everyday
person working and playing in the 1960’s. The media and
advertising were favorite subjects for Pop Art artists. Andy
Warhol was most likely the most recognized of all the Pop culture
artists with his “Campbell Soup” and “Marilyn Monroe” series.
• Claes Oldenburg’s sculptures emphasize visual spatial
relationships with everyday objects. Playing with the scale of his
creations, he liked to enlarge his artwork to extraordinary sizes.

2. Knife Ship I, 1985. Vinyl-covered wood,
steel, and aluminum with motors, dimensions
variable, maximum height 31 feet 8 inches x
40 feet 5 inches x 31 feet 6 inches. Solomon
R. Guggenheim Museum, Gift, GFT USA
Corporation, New York. 95.4489.

3. Knife Ship I, 1985. Vinyl-covered wood,
steel, and aluminum with motors, dimensions
variable, maximum height 31 feet 8 inches x
40 feet 5 inches x 31 feet 6 inches. Solomon
R. Guggenheim Museum, Gift, GFT USA
Corporation, New York. 95.4489.

4. C l a e s O l d e n b u r g
G l a s s C a s e w i t h P i e s ( A s s o r t e d P i e s i n a C a s e ) ,
1 9 6 2
G i f t o f L e o C a s t e l l i , i n H o n o r o f t h e 5 0 t h
A n n i v e r s a r y o f t h e N a t i o n a l G a l l e r y o f A r t

18. • In this project, we are
making an attempt at
sculpting food out of clay
exactly as it is in real life,
to fool the viewer into
believing that it is actually
food. Once clay is formed,
we will bisque fire and
then paint food sculptures
using acrylic paint.