Similar to Andy Warhol, Claes
Oldenburg took ordinary, manufactured objects and enlarged them as statements
of society's dependence on industrialization.
A sculptor, Oldenburg also chose unconventional locations wherein to
position his artworks for public viewing.
They most frequently appear, not in museums, but in regular, everyday
public places, such as this giant pickaxe, which rests awkwardly on the grounds
of a park in Kassel, Germany.
The focus is vaguely reminiscent of
Georgia O'Keeffe's enlargement of the flower.
Oldenburg's attention to conventional objects in unconventional places
displays not just the intricate social critique of a pop artist who seeks to
comment on the nature of consumerism in American culture but a memorable effusion
of one of the basic qualities of artists of all mediums; and it is the thing
which has come to define art in the modern era perhaps most of all—the ability
of the artist to think outside the box.
After all, most of the fun in inventions such as this lies in wondering
why the artist chose to position the pickaxe the way in which he did; and why
that particular location; and why so big; etc., etc. This is the heart of ingenuity, creativity,
and, in a way, art itself.
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