Claes Oldenburg

Usually whenever I look at art in the book I don't like it at first, but then as we discuss it in class it grows on me. The case is much different when I first looked at the works of Claes Oldenburg. I instantly loved it.The picture in the book is his gigantic sculpture of a clothespin standing up in the middle of the city.

 It is incredibly random, and I love it. It is probably due to my odd sense of humor, but I find his work to be quite humorous. He takes everyday objects that are so common we sometimes forget the exist, and puts an enormous sculpture of it in a random location. He didn't put the sculpture of the clothespin in a laundromat parking lot where it would be somewhat relevant to its surrondings, he put it in the middle of Central Square in Philadelphia. It is completely irrelevant to the location, which I think adds to the beauty of it. It is completely random, which makes it fun. The art we usually tend to talk about in class has a very serious tone and deep underlying meaning, so it is very refreshing to see art that is light hearted and fun. His work actually makes me laugh because it is just so random. For example his work below is like a giant went bowling in the middle of a park, it is great!

When we looked at the pop-art of Andy Warhol I really wasn't a big fan. I liked the simplicity of it, but it felt dull to me. Oldenburg on the other hand somehow creates things that are simple yet exciting. I don't think much thought goes into his works. It looks like he gets a random idea and goes with it. His "Dropped Cone" sculpture has to be my favorite. It is a huge ice cream cone that looks like it was dropped and splatted on the corner of a building... It is original and fun.