Claes Oldenburg, Visiting Artist Lecture 1973

Claes Oldenburg gives a lecture at Skowhegan where he shows a series of slides of his work. Oldenburg reflects on his relationship with materials, his interest in politics, and his observation of life around him which acts as a catalyst to produce his work. Oldenburg’s work–which is primarily rooted in sculpture–is interested in using unconventional materials ranging from vinyl, to bacon, to toothpaste. Oldenburg is interested in taking away an object’s function and then reconstructing it into material in his work, which allows him to then recall the history of where these objects come from. Oldenburg goes on to talk about his interest in the potential of soft sculpture and the ability soft sculpture has to change shape. For Oldenburg, this makes him think about notions of objectivity, and how he can let his materials develop their own feelings. Oldenburg also talks about the role writing and language plays in his work, and the writing practice he has been building over the last 10 years. Oldenburg ends his lecture by asking participants about the nature of Skowhegan; what kind of work goes on there and how the participants are around one another.