Image series 30 / 2012: Claes Oldenburg
The early work
15 July 2012
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By: Hendrikje Hüneke
In these days Claes Oldenburg is famous for its monumental sculptures in public spaces, like the pickaxe in Kassel from the documenta 7 (1982). Made of poor materials, the works from the sixties are more rude, but they also show objects of daily use, which are alienate by the use of special materials and by enlarging them. An exhibition in Cologne is showing relicts of the installations “the Street” (1960) and “the Store” (1961/62), works from paper board, papier mâché and plaster, as well as the “soft” objects, made from vinyl, like the oversized saggy light switch or the droopy water closet.
Claes Oldenburg. The Sixties, 23th June to 30th September 2012, Museum Ludwig, Cologne
Claes Oldenburg: salmon mayonnaise, 1964, 12,7 × 44,5 cm, New York City, Sammlung Mr. u. Mrs. Robert C. Scull; Imago, Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Kunstgeschichtliches Seminar, Humboldt-Universität Berlin
Claes Oldenburg: floor cake, 1962, Leinwand, mit Schaumgummi und Pappschachteln ausgestopft, synthetische Polymer- und Latexfarbe, 148,2 × 290,2 × 148,2 cm , New York, Museum of Modern Art; DILPS, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Kunstgeschichtliches Institut, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Claes Oldenburg: U.S.A. flag, 1960, Eisengerüst, Gips, Mousselin, 61 × 77 × 9 cm, Collection de l’auteur; Iconothèque, Université de Genève
Claes Oldenburg: soft toilet, 1966, Vinyl, Plexiglas und Kapok auf bemaltem Holzsockel,144,9 × 70,2 × 71,3 cm, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; DILPS, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Kunstgeschichtliches Institut, Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Claes Oldenburg: soft pay-telephone, 1963, Vinyl, Plexiglas und Kapok auf bemaltem Holzsockel, 19 × 49 × 23 cm, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Iconothèque, Université de Genève
Claes Oldenburg: giant soft swedish light switch, 1966, Vinyl, H. 130 cm, Museum Ludwig, Köln; Imago, Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Kunstgeschichtliches Seminar, Humboldt-Universität Berlin
Claes Oldenburg: the Store, 1961/62, Textil in Gips auf Drahtgestell, Lackfarbe, Köln, Museum Ludwig; Imago, Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Kunstgeschichtliches Seminar, Humboldt-Universität Berlin
Claes Oldenburg: the Street, realisiert in der Judson Gallery, New York, 1960 – 1984, Textil, Karton, Zeitungspapier, Recyclingmaterial, 15 Teile; Iconothèque, Université de Genève
