historical ubuweb

Claes Oldenburg, Sweden / USA | b. 1929 Injun & Other Histories (1966, Great Bear Pamphlet, Something Else Press) [PDF, 568k] Claes Oldenburg (born January 28, 1929) is a sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring large versions of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft versions of normally hard objects. Oldenburg was born in Stockholm, Sweden, but moved to America as a child in 1936. He studied at Yale University and the Art Institute of Chicago. One of his first large works was Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks, originally installed in Beinecke Plaza at Yale, and now residing in the Morse College courtyard. He has collaborated since 1976 with Dutch/American pop sculptor Coosje van Bruggen. They were married in 1977. In addition to freestanding projects, he occasionally contributes to architectural projects, most notably the Chiat\Day advertising agency headquarters in the Venice district of Los Angeles, California -- the main entrance is a pair of giant black binoculars. RELATED RESOURCES: Claes Oldenburg's audio in UbuWeb Film Claes Oldenburg's audio in UbuWeb Sound Art by Telephone in UbuWeb Sound Aspen no. 3: The Pop Art issue