Claes Oldenburg

Claes Oldenburg is currently showing at the MoMA, and I have to say that I really enjoyed the retrospective.  Known for enlarged everyday objects, Oldenburg addresses pop culture, mass consumption, advertising, and so many other American issues that were prevalent during the 1960's, and of course today.  

Oldenburg, personally, reminds me that art can be simple, humorous, and yet offer an ironic commentary on the commercial and consuming world we live in.  I especially loved his glass pie case.  (Sorry, no photos were allowed inside the exhibition.)  The pie case reminded me of Marcel Duchamp's Bottle Rack, one of his landmark offerings called a 'ready made'--any found pre-manufactured object presented to be examined for its aesthetic qualities.

Below are two images I took prior to entering Oldenburg's mini-museum, the Mouse Museum/Ray Gun Wing, that is a small black building in the shape of a mouse head that displays many objects Oldenburg found interesting and inspiring.  A couple of the objects inside were eventually selected to become his signature large, droopy masterpieces.