Notes (Kassel), from the portfolio “Notes”
Claes Oldenburg
Description
Subject Matter:
Text on reverse of print:
Through a misunderstanding, I believed that I would be given an enormous area to use in the 1968 Dokumenta exhibition in Kassel. I thought of building a golf course and then, imagining the surfaces of sand traps detached, I thought of scattering huge potato chips over the area like fallen leaves (or ears). In a practical mood, I reduced this to one huge chip which metamorphosed when a live model revealed her navel on the steps of the County Museum. The navel was to be filled with colored water, in recollection of Bernini), though several mothers pointed out that children might slip in and never be seen again. The dog-bowl in the form of a navel was to be sold as a souvenir. The obsession was erased finally by the projection of a colossal monument derived from the tools of geometry though the navel persists in the hole of the angle. This beautiful structure was impossible to realize and at this time of writing I face the Kassel show exhausted and with my allowed space shrunk to 30 by 30 feet.
Physical Description:
This is a large print with five depictions arranged around it against a white background. In the upper left is a maroon rectangle with white triangles and lettering. In the upper right is a small vertical rectangle with black lettering. In the lower left is a line drawing with green coloring and black lettering. A small photograph of a woman's torso and a small line drawing of a disk with black lettering are in the lower right area.
Usage Rights:
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