Frank O. Gehry and Associates, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Model of the Chiat / Day Building with Maquette of the Binoculars from the Venice Project Added in the Center, 1986

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1985-88, 3/22/24 #minneapolissculpturegarden by Sharon Mollerus

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Dropped Flower, 2006 Castello di Rivoli, Turin

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s “Shuttlecocks” was a sensation when it debuted in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1994. Photographer: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives

a pop art giant : Claes Oldenburg mastered the urban spectacle

Typewriter Eraser, Scale X Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen

National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden Washington, DC

Pop artist Claes Oldenburg, known for giant urban sculptures, dies aged 93

Typewriter Eraser, Scale X.

1999, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Painted stainless steel and fiberglass. Washington, DC.

Balancing Tools, Weil am Rhein Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen 1984 Rolf Fehlbaum

Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen: Free Stamp, Cleveland.

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen created Free Stamp, the 70,000 pound sculpture, pictured above, in 1985.

Cleveland Historical, which has detailed numerous historical sites in the city, provides a detailed history of the sculpture. They also have an app to simplify exploring the city.

Below is a section from their website about Free Stamp–

…Commissioned by the Amoco Company in 1982, the Stamp was designed and fabricated in 1985. At the time, Amoco owned Sohio (Standard Oil of Ohio) and the building now known as 200 Public Square, and the piece was intended to reside in front of the building. But in 1986, before installation could happen, Amoco, Sohio and the building were acquired by BP America. The new owners refused to mount the sculpture—perhaps believing that “Free Stamp” was a metaphoric aspersion. Art historian Edward J. Olszewski has also noted that, in England, Pop Art is viewed more cynically and politically than in the United States, where it is considered primarily whimsical. Oldenburg is on record as saying that “free,” references the emancipation of American slaves during and after the Civil War—a plausible explanation given the piece’s planned proximity to the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument.

So instead of adorning Public Square, the Free Stamp was denied its freedom: imprisoned instead in a warehouse in Illinois. There it gathered dust for five years before then-mayor George Voinovich invited Oldenburg and van Bruggen to Cleveland in hopes of selecting another site.

It eventually was decided that the Stamp should be located in Willard Park on Lakeside Avenue just west of East 9th Street; and BP agreed to gift it to the city of Cleveland with all installation and maintenance expenses covered. However, disagreements arose about how the sculpture would be positioned. The original intent was for the Stamp to stand face down on Public Square. However, Cleveland city planners felt that this approach was not right for Willard Park and the Stamp ultimately was mounted angularly, with the faux-rubber “FREE” proudly visible. According to Oldenburg, it was as if “a giant hand picked up the Free Stamp and angrily hurled it several blocks to its current location at Willard Park.” Not surprisingly, the Stamp—formally dedicated on November 15, 1991—aims directly at 200 Public Square “It’s pointed on a diagonal to the 23rd floor, which were [BP’s] corporate offices,” notes Olszewski. “It leads the viewer back to the original site.”

I Am Pleased To Announce That

I am pleased to announce that i am not a wave though here i am again and again and again dissecting don’t sweat the small sweet crystals they sweat right back pirouetting after seaweed green garland rollicking bleakly beside neptune randomness but expect of course the sound of the familiar horizon over of course i’ve been showing and not telling for millennia the young drum beats us citizens…

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Garden hose and faucet. Gigantic.

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Batcolumn, Chicago, Illinois, 1977

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1988, Stainless steel and aluminum, 5/27/23 #walkerartcenter #sculpture #publicart by Sharon Mollerus

 Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Typewriter Eraser Scale X, Sculpture Garden, National Gallery of Art, National Mall, Washington DC, 2000.

How many people remember what this represents? Perhaps they still exist, but in the age of computers it is easier to make a whole new corrected copy than to erase and retype in order to correct an error. Similar statues by Oldenburg and van Brugge can be found at Seattle Center and in Las Vegas.

Spoonbridge and Cherry

Claes Oldenburg, renowned artist and co-creator of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden's Spoonbridge and Cherry, died this week at age 93. Oldenburg was famous for large sculptures depicting common objects.

Oldenburg's Spoonbridge and Cherry (created in collaboration with his wife Coosje van Bruggen) has been the centerpiece of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden since it opened in 1988. The grand opening (program pictured in lower right) included vendors selling cherry sundaes, the chance to play the spoons in a group Spoon Band concert, and supplies to make floatable sculptures to sail beneath the Spoonbridge.

In the press release for Spoonbridge and Cherry's unveiling, Oldenburg shared his thoughts on his famous sculpture: "The way the cherry throws itself into the air, it suggests a ship drawing up on shore."

Photos from M/A 0255 Collection on the Walker Art Center and the City of Minneapolis Collection in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections (C39602 and C00759).