With an eye for the unusual, Claes Oldenburg manipulated commonplace objects into unimaginable masterpieces. Oldenburg is considered one of the most influential artists of pop culture. He was a dominant figure in pop art when it first surfaced in the 1950s, and he remains so even today. Pop art is a visual art movement that is derived from popular mass culture (“Pop Art,” 2008, para. 1). With his soft sculptures of popular pieces and his large-scale masterpieces of the same sort, Claes Oldenburg managed to make himself stand out beyond the rest of the artists. Oldenburg’s soft and large-scale sculptures are exactly what the general public would think. Soft sculptures are ordinary items created to look as if they were pliable and melting. This style completely transformed the identity of the original object. Large-scale sculptures are also everyday objects, but unlike their soft sculpted cousins, these objects remained in their original state only to have their size greatly enhanced. Though the names of Oldenburg’s sculpting styles do not give way to a lot of mystery, the meaning behind them surely brings astonishment to the viewers.
Soft sculptures are one of the main focuses of Claes Oldenburg’s work. A soft sculpture is a manipulated form of an everyday object that is closely associated with human beings. Oldenburg created these sculptures to make it look as if some gravitational force was pulling the structure down. It almost looks as though the whole object is melting. This unorthodox way of modeling objects transformed the original function of the item and reinvented its principle completely. Ultimately, this new way of thinking was Oldenburg’s purpose for creating these yielding figures. The reactions of the general public were ones of wonder and bewilderment. Seeing a new form of objects that they were so familiar with made them question the true meaning of the ordinary.
To change a solid entity into a malleable one, many materials were used. Most of his sculptures were made using vinyl or canvas (“Soft Sculpture,” n.d. para 1). Both of these materials gave Oldenburg the soft look he wanted to achieve, but they were not alone in the structure. He also had to add many filling materials to give the sculptures the drooping contours he desired. These extra materials include rubber, foam, kapok, Plexiglas, Formica, and different types of cloth.
As the different substances were packed into the outer vinyl or canvas, the structure took on certain attributes of the human form. If a person examines one of Oldenburg’s soft sculptures closely, he or she may find curves and swells resembling those of the actual human body. These swells found in his sculptures give an almost erotic view into the meaning of the work (“Soft Sculpture,” n.d. para. 2). Oldenburg created a myriad of soft sculptures. Some of his most famous sculptures include Soft Bathtub, Toothpaste, Soft Light Switches, Soft Pay-Telephone, Soft Toilet, and Soft Drainpipe. An excellent example of the humanly form present in soft sculptures is found in the Soft Pay-Telephone. If one looks closely, the viewer may make out the silhouette of a human. The swelling of the bottom of the telephone suggests that hips are present. The telephone on the cradle looks as if a female is resting her hand on her hip. The human form is also evident within the curves of Toothpaste. This sculpture is lying on the floor with the bottom end crumpled up. The sculpture’s accordion like physique resembles that of a female lying down with her legs folded back. The sexual connotations of Soft Toilet and Soft Drainpipe may be interpreted as a metaphor for a phallic symbol (“Biography: Claes Oldenburg,” 2008, para. 11). These innuendos are found in almost all of Oldenburg’s soft sculptures. Not only did his work resemble human anatomy, it was also an interactive part of human society. In the early 1960s, Oldenburg created two well-known soft sculpture scenes called The Street and The Store (“Claes Oldenburg,” 2007, para.1). The Street is a room exaggerated into the usual styling of an actual street. Newspapers and trash are strewn about as well as cardboard and wood. There are several human figures along with a few automobiles present (“Claes Oldenburg’s the Street and Urban Renewal in Greenwich Village, 1960,” 2004, para 2) . The Store is made to look like a normal store that sells food and other similar items. Unlike the ordinary items of a common store, Oldenburg’s place of business contained soft sculpture versions of these items. He made several food items that he put on display just like one would if they were real. Customers could actually come inside and purchase any of these soft sculpted items (“Claes Oldenburg,” 2007, para.1).
Another of Claes Oldenburg’s main focuses is his work on large-scale sculptures. Just like his soft sculptures, his large-scale masterpieces are transformations of everyday objects. Though their original forms are the same, the transformations of the two are completely different. Whereas Oldenburg’s soft sculptures are made into distortions, his large-scale sculptures remain in their original state but are made into giant versions of their formal selves. His purpose for creating these gigantic figures was to give people a new perspective of the mundane and to show the correlation between art and architecture. They were meant to take the intimacy out of an object and place it into the public to show the relationship between the piece and its surroundings (“Large-Scale Projects,” n.d. para. 8). He showed all this meaning through a clever, sarcastic sense of humor. When a six foot tall person stands beside a familiar object that towers over him by over twenty feet, it is almost impossible to keep questions at bay.
These huge sculptures were built with strong materials to support the weight of the structure. Most of them were made using steel, wood, aluminum, and re-enforced plastic (“Large-Scale Projects,” n.d. para. 8). They were mostly painted with enamel based coloring. Some of Claes Oldenburg’s most famous sculptures include The Clothespin, Spoonbridge and Cherry, Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks, and Shuttlecocks. Often times, Oldenburg tried to incorporate different meanings and artwork into his own art. He injected so many diverse meanings into The Clothespin. Every part of it has a special significance. This piece is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The giant version of the seemingly normal clothespin is actually Oldenburg’s spin on Brancusi’s The Kiss. Just as the two figures are connected in a tight embrace in The Kiss, Oldenburg joined both pieces of the Clothespin in a similar attachment (Fichner-Rathus, 2007, p. 91). Not only did he incorporate Brancusi’s work into his own, but he also included America’s history into this same piece. The point where the two pieces of the clothespin splits is meant to resemble the crack in the Liberty Bell which is found in the same city that this sculpture is located (Fichner-Rathus, 2007, p. 91). Even the spring that holds together both sides of the clothespin has its own meaning. If one follows the lines of the spring closely, he or she will see that it spells out the number “76.” This number stands for the year that the sculpture was created: 1976 (Fichner-Rathus, 2007, p. 91). Located on the campus of Yale University, Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks was also given a few meanings of its own. Oldenburg wanted to show the public that a relationship is existent between war machines and predictable items. In this way, he brought together the male and the female form. The male aspect exists within the caterpillar tracks, and the female facet lies within the lipstick. This method was a perfect way to blend death and desire (“Large-Scale Projects,” n.d. para. 6). This clever way of blending together different aspects of culture shows that Oldenburg did not merely create enormous sculptures. He created enormous sculptures that exude artistic talent as well as knowledge. His large-scale sculptures prove that there is a clear link between art and architecture. Oldenburg took his sculptures to a new level when he began making them on a large scale. He took them to the edge of the art realm and into the world of architecture and structural design. He created a fine line between the two worlds.
Claes Oldenburg drew upon many influences to create his masterpieces, and he encouraged his viewers to do the same. The writings of Sigmund Freud helped Oldenburg to locate his inner self in his artwork, thereby, reshaping his approach to art (“Biography: Claes Oldenburg,” 2008, para 12). For his work on his soft sculpture scenes, he was inspired by a number of different things. These inspirations include comic strips, children’s artwork, and the work of fellow artist Jean Dubuffet (“Biography: Claes Oldenburg,” 2008, para 12). Oldenburg took the visual elements of pop art to a completely new level. While most pop artists created variations of popular items, Oldenburg changed the complexion as well as the meaning of objects while keeping their original structures. Oxymoronic, he created artwork as a type of reasonable absurdity. His sculptures were sometimes off the wall, but they were always contained in their original state. With his exaggerated pieces of soft sculptures and his exceptionally large versions of the commonplace, Oldenburg changed the way people view artwork as well as their very own household objects. He made them realize that there is a connection between the practical and the inflated. Claes Oldenburg’s interest in the extraordinary provides a skill that no other could possess. His talent gives him the ability to transform the familiar into something inconceivable.
