“Everything I do is completely original—I made it up when I was a kid.” —Claes Oldenburg

From 1976 until 2009, Oldenburg made works of art with his wife, Coosje van Bruggen. As working partners, they created numerous public sculptures that were often inspired by small, everyday things such as a spoon, a lipstick, or a flashlight. By making gigantic sculptures of humble, commonplace objects and installing them in public places, Oldenburg and van Bruggen gave these small objects a new beauty and importance. These works are installed in Europe, Asia, and the United States.

Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks, Samuel F. B. Morse College, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut Cor-Ten steel, steel, aluminum, cast resin; painted with polyurethane enamel 23 ft. 6 in. x 24 ft. 11 in. x 10 ft. 11 in. (7.2 x 7.6 x 3.3 m) Sited: 33 x 37 x 56 ft. (10.1 x x 17.1 m) Commissioned January 1969 by Stuart Wrede and students at the Yale School of Architecture Originally installed May 15, 1969, in Beinecke Plaza (Hewitt Quadrangle), Yale University Installed and inaugurated October 17, 1974

Clothespin Centre Square Plaza, Fifteenth and Market streets, Philadelphia Cor-Ten and stainless steels 45 ft. x 12 ft. 3 in. x 4 ft. 6 in. (13.7 x 3.7 x 1.4 m) Commissioned May 1974 by Jack Wolgin, through the Redevelopment Authority's Fine Arts Program Installed June 25, 1976 Inaugurated July 1, 1976

Balancing Tools Vitra International AG, Weil am Rhein, Germany Steel painted with polyurethane enamel 26 ft. 3 in. x 29 ft. 6 in. x 19 ft. 10 in. (8 x 9 x 6.1 m) Commissioned September 1981 by Rolf Fehlbaum Installed May 3, 1984 Inaugurated May 5, 1984 The Balancing Tools was our first private commission, though the site eventually turned out to be a very public one. Rolf Fehlbaum, the proprietor of Vitra, a manufacturer of contemporary furniture located in the countryside near Weil-am-Rhein, Germany, not far from Basel, Switzerland, commissioned the sculpture, a surprise gift to his father, Willi for his seventieth birthday, saying that our use of functional subject matter would appeal to his father, who was a "practical man."

Spoonbridge and Cherry Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Stainless steel and aluminum painted with polyurethane enamel 29 ft. 6 in. x 51 ft. 6 in. x 13 ft. 6 in. (9 x 15.7 x 4.1 m) Commissioned February 1985 by the Walker Art Center Gift of Frederick R. Weisman in honor of his parents, William and Mary Weisman Installed May 9, 1988 Inaugurated May 11, 1988

Flying Pins Intersection of John F. Kennedylaan and Fellenoord, Eindhoven, the Netherlands Commissioned by Gemeente Eindhoven Dienst Maatschappelijke en Culturele Zaken and Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, the Netherlands Steel, fiber-reinforced plastic, polyvinyl chloride foam; painted with polyester gelcoat and polyurethane enamel Eleven elements in an area approximately 123 ft. (37.5 m) long x 65 ft. 7 in. (20 m) wide; ten pins, each: 24 ft. 7 in. (7.5 m) high x 7 ft. 7 in. (2.3 m) widest diameter; ball: 9 ft. 2 in. (2.8 m) high x 22 ft. (6.7 m) diameter Installed April-May 2000

Dropped Cone Neumarkt Galerie, Cologne, Germany Stainless and galvanized steels, fiber- reinforced plastic, balsa wood; painted with polyester gelcoat 39 ft. 10 in. (12.1 m) high x 19 ft. (5.8 m) diameter; height above building: 32 ft. 10 in. (10 m) Commissioned by Neumarkt Galerie Installed March 2001

Model for Dropped Cone 2000 Clay, wood, paper; painted with latex 28 x 21 1/2 x 24 in. (71.1 x 54.6 x 61 cm)

So What Are We Doing? Create an OBJECTIVE sculpture Use ALL of your pottery (clay-sculpting) skills Neatness is extremely important Be creative in your choice of subject and design Size – 7-10” Stable structure 5 days, 100 points (Rubric) WOW ME!