Eboni Lacey 
09/15/2010 
Professor Neil Lawley 
Short Response 

Short Essay: Claes Oldenburg

Sculpture Artist Claes Oldenburg has had a desire for unusual art since studying at the Art Institute in Chicago in the 1950’s. His unusual desires deal with abstract expressionism, profound ideas, and large colossal sculptures. He uses the volume in a Three-Dimensional Perspective to take up large amounts and space and provide various angles for the audience to look at. These desires and uses of space reoccur in every project he creates. An example is his “Spoonbridge and Cherry” which is an attribute to the sculpture garden of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This large piece, which is 29 ft. high and 51 ft. wide, creates pleasing views and angles no matter where you stand when viewing it. 
As our class has been studying making objects pleasing from multiple angles and views, Claes Oldenburg’s pieces create not only pleasing angles, but unique angles that can been seen from many feet away. Other pieces by Oldenburg include “Free Stamp,” “Dropped Cone,” and “Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks.” As his pieces involving a lot of individualism and uniqueness, the public has adapted to his different perceptions as a “whimsical, insightful, and fun additions to public outdoor art,” (Ian Chivers,www.artsjrank.org). As the public has appreciated his masterpieces,   I too appreciate Oldenburg for taking risks and going beyond normal sculpture pieces. I feel that the “Spoonbridge and Cherry” is an original simplistic design yet complicated scale and medium to achieve. Those contrasting factors make this art piece absolutely incredible and extremely dynamic, as we are learning ways to create dynamic pieces in our own ways as well.