Thursday, May 5, 2011

Did I mention we studied Claes Oldenburg this year in elementary art? We looked it his whimsical larger than life sculptures of food, and household objects many of which are now almost obsolete. One of my favorite being this typewriter eraser (the kids had no idea what it was), hmmm. Well I got to see it in the sculptural garden of the National Gallery of art in Washington D.C. among some other great sculptures as well. Then, last week.....

while visiting in Ohio, right near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I got to see this one, called Free Stamp, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen. It was commission by Standard Oil Company of Ohio which was bought out by British Petroleum during the production. BP ended up donating it to the city of Cleveland. It was originally supppose to be standing on the stamp end, but it was decided to lay it down, which allows the word free to be read. That's how big it is.......





1 comment:

Chesterbrook Academy Elementary said...

I love large scale sculptures.
What better way for students to understand the concept of scale in art.

My students did a project based on the work of a New York artist Will Ryman. He installed clusters of giant roses on Park Avenue, New York.