Modern & Contemporary Artists Codexery

Claes Oldenburg

Swedish-born American sculptor of oversized everyday objects.

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Claes Oldenburg

via Wikipedia: Claes Oldenburg · see source

Born in Stockholm on January 28, 1929, Claes Oldenburg was the child of Gösta Oldenburg and Sigrid Elisabeth née Lindforss; his father served as a Swedish diplomat.[1] Oldenburg obtained US citizenship through naturalization in 1953.[2] At age 93, Oldenburg passed away on July 18, 2022, at his Manhattan residence due to fall-related complications.[3]

Claes Oldenburg - 2012
Claes Oldenburg - 2012. Image: Photo:Raimond Spekking · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Claes Oldenburg
Claes Oldenburg. Image: Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Claes Oldenburg, 1990
Claes Oldenburg, 1990. Image: Wmpearl · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Life and work

The year 1957 saw Oldenburg experimenting with soft sculpture concepts, resulting in a free-hanging piece constructed from a newspaper-stuffed woman's stocking.[4] Oldenburg's connection to the pop art movement and his creation of numerous happenings emerged during the 1960s.[5] "Ray Gun Theater" was the designation Oldenburg applied to his own productions.[5] Patty Mucha, who was Oldenburg's first spouse from 1960 to 1970, stitched many of his initial soft sculptures and regularly performed in his happenings.[5]

Claes Oldenburg (1970)
Claes Oldenburg (1970). Image: Bert Verhoeff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

What the cited sources add

According to the Patty Mucha Papers, Patty first saw Claes Oldenburg while she was at the Oxbow Summer School of Painting and later went to visit him in his Chicago studio.[6][7] The same source notes that Patty Mucha was not only Oldenburg's muse for his main performance ensemble but collaborator for all of his early sewn sculptures.[6][7] The Patty Mucha Papers also state that her contribution to the invention of soft sculpture was the result of the immediate demand for Oldenburg's first exhibition at the Green Gallery in 1962.[6][7] A New York Observer article reports that Patty Mucha has completed a 400-page memoir about the decade she was married to Oldenburg, from 1960 to 1970.[8]

Claes Oldenburg (1970) (cropped)
Claes Oldenburg (1970) (cropped). Image: Bert Verhoeff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Cleveland Historical account by Roy describes the Free Stamp in Cleveland’s Willard Park as one of three titanic installations created by Oldenburg and van Bruggen in the Cleveland area.[9] The same source notes that Oldenburg is on record as saying that "free" references the emancipation of American slaves during and after the Civil War.[9]

"Bottle Of Notes" by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen (1993), Centre Square, Middlesbrough - geograph.org.uk
"Bottle Of Notes" by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen (1993), Centre Square, Middlesbrough - geograph.org.uk. Image: habiloid · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Claes Oldenburg" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Claes Oldenburg 1929 – 2022"; "Gosta Oldenburg; Retired Diplomat, 98", The New York Times, April 1, 1992; "Biografía y obras: Oldenburg, Claes claes-oldenburg" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Claes Oldenburg" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Claes Oldenburg." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998; later: Gale. Retrieved via Biography in Context database, October 22, 2017. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Claes Oldenburg" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bernstein, "Claes Oldenburg, a whimsical father of pop art, dies at 93", The Washington Post, July 18, 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Claes Oldenburg" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McKenna, "Art : When Bigger Is Better : Claes Oldenburg has spent the past 35 years blowing up and redefining everyday objects, all in the name of getting art off its pedestal.", Los Angeles Times, 1995-07-02 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Claes Oldenburg" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McKenna, "Art : When Bigger Is Better : Claes Oldenburg has spent the past 35 years blowing up and redefining everyday objects, all in the name of getting art off its pedestal.", Los Angeles Times, 1995-07-02; "Six Feet of the 1960s and '70s: Patty Mucha—Once Mrs. Olurg—on Her Archives and New Memoir", The New York Observer, January 16, 2012; "Guide to the The[sic] Patty Mucha Papers, 1949 – 2016 MSS.342", dlib.nyu.edu (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. "Guide to the The[sic] Patty Mucha Papers, 1949 – 2016 MSS.342", dlib.nyu.edu. facts only, no text reused. dlib.nyu.edu
  7. "Patty [Oldenberg] Mucha Archive Granary Books", granarybooks.com. facts only, no text reused. web.archive.org
  8. "Six Feet of the 1960s and '70s: Patty Mucha—Once Mrs. Olurg—on Her Archives and New Memoir", The New York Observer, January 16, 2012. facts only, no text reused. observer.com
  9. Roy, "The Free Stamp", Cleveland Historical. facts only, no text reused. clevelandhistorical.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Claes Oldenburg (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In what year was Claes Oldenburg born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1929.

From the source: “Claes Oldenburg (January 28, 1929 – July 18, 2022) was a Swedish-born American sculptor best known for his public art installations, typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects.”

2. In what year did Claes Oldenburg die?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 2022.

From the source: “Claes Oldenburg (January 28, 1929 – July 18, 2022) was a Swedish-born American sculptor best known for his public art installations, typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture version”

3. In which place was Claes Oldenburg born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Stockholm, Sweden.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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