 in front of Dwan Gallery, Los Angeles, 196)
There's nothing more appealing than a creative who uses humour in their work; particularly, an element of humour balanced with intelligence and strong sense of aesthetics. A fine example is Claes Oldenburg, whose work is celebrated in a travelling
There's nothing more appealing than a creative who uses humour in their work; particularly, an element of humour balanced with intelligence and a strong sense of aesthetics. Marcel Duchamp, Maison Martin Margiela, Fischli & Weiss and Erwin Wurm are fine examples; artists who use everyday objects to create thought-provoking, memorable works. Another is Claes Oldeburg – the iconic Swedish American artist renowned for his oversized sculptures of symbols of popular culture, from cheeseburgers and ice-creams to lipsticks and lavatories. "I am for an art that is political-erotical-mystical, that does something more than sit on its ass in a museum", he once said.
"I am for an art that is political-erotical-mystical, that does something more than sit on its ass in a museum"
This year sees the most comprehensive survey to-date of Oldenburg's work, focusing on his output throughout the 1960s, including The Street installation and the Mouse Museum. In a travelling international exhibition and accompanying monograph, Claes Oldeburg: The Sixities explores the conceptual complexity and diversity of the artist's work. The survey is benefitted by Oldeburg's involvement – now aged 83 and having carefully preserved his archive, the exhibition and book are rich in material, many of them never shown before. Pictures of the artist at work, scans of original drawings on loose sheets of notepaper, watercolours, views of his studio and stills from his iconic performances and "happenings" help to give an insight into Oldeburg's witty thought processes and portray a clear image of an artist who is considered to be the leading proponent of Pop art, performance art and installation art.
The book, Claes Oldenburg: The Sixties, is published by Prestel. The exhibition runs at MUMOK, Vienna until May 27 and travels to Cologne, Bilbao, New York and Minneapolis.
Text by Laura Bradley
