Claes Oldenburg
Saw/Tie, 1994
Signed with the initials 'C.O.' and dated '94' (lower right)
Colored crayons and pencil
73.7 by 58.4 cm (29 by 23 in.)
69589
© The Claes Oldenburg Estate
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Executed in 1994. In 1959 Claes Oldenburg began exhibiting enigmatic imagery, ranging from monstrous figures to everyday objects, executed across diverse media, including drawing, collage, and papier-mâché. Two years later,...
Executed in 1994.
In 1959 Claes Oldenburg began exhibiting enigmatic imagery, ranging from monstrous figures to everyday objects, executed across diverse media, including drawing, collage, and papier-mâché. Two years later, he famously opened The Store at his New York studio, where he recreated the environment of his neighborhood shops and bodegas. Familiar objects such as diner food, clothing and knick-knacks constructed from painted plaster were displayed and offered for sale – an avant-garde performance piece that explored American society’s celebration of consumption and precursor to Pop Art, which formally emerged in the early 1960s. Oldenburg’s work continued to grow in scale and ambition, while his focus remained consistent: everyday items presented on a magnified scale that inverted the traditional relationship between viewer and object, alongside a commitment to witty, sometimes critical, commentaries on American culture and consumerism.
The present drawing from 1994 crystalizes Oldenburg’s distinct and playful style. A blue and white striped necktie becomes a macabre object where the tails are transformed into the blades of handsaws. The handles of the saws form the edges of the garment while the teeth appear as textured silk threads; this everyday accessory is transformed into a surreal object that recalls the dreamlike works of artists like Magritte and Dalí. This drawing prompts viewers to reflect on the mundane objects that populate our world and suggests multiple interpretations – notions on style and status, or perhaps the falsity of the American dream.
Two similar drawings from the same year are held in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, donated by the artist and his wife, Coosje van Bruggen. Oldenburg and van Bruggen collaborated on several monumental outdoor sculptures from 1976 until 2009. It is possible the present drawing was a preparatory study for a never-realized sculpture, or perhaps used as the basis for the 1994 work Inverted Collar and Tie, installed at the Westend Tower in Frankfurt, Germany.
In 1959 Claes Oldenburg began exhibiting enigmatic imagery, ranging from monstrous figures to everyday objects, executed across diverse media, including drawing, collage, and papier-mâché. Two years later, he famously opened The Store at his New York studio, where he recreated the environment of his neighborhood shops and bodegas. Familiar objects such as diner food, clothing and knick-knacks constructed from painted plaster were displayed and offered for sale – an avant-garde performance piece that explored American society’s celebration of consumption and precursor to Pop Art, which formally emerged in the early 1960s. Oldenburg’s work continued to grow in scale and ambition, while his focus remained consistent: everyday items presented on a magnified scale that inverted the traditional relationship between viewer and object, alongside a commitment to witty, sometimes critical, commentaries on American culture and consumerism.
The present drawing from 1994 crystalizes Oldenburg’s distinct and playful style. A blue and white striped necktie becomes a macabre object where the tails are transformed into the blades of handsaws. The handles of the saws form the edges of the garment while the teeth appear as textured silk threads; this everyday accessory is transformed into a surreal object that recalls the dreamlike works of artists like Magritte and Dalí. This drawing prompts viewers to reflect on the mundane objects that populate our world and suggests multiple interpretations – notions on style and status, or perhaps the falsity of the American dream.
Two similar drawings from the same year are held in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, donated by the artist and his wife, Coosje van Bruggen. Oldenburg and van Bruggen collaborated on several monumental outdoor sculptures from 1976 until 2009. It is possible the present drawing was a preparatory study for a never-realized sculpture, or perhaps used as the basis for the 1994 work Inverted Collar and Tie, installed at the Westend Tower in Frankfurt, Germany.