Claes Oldenburg: Writing on the Side 1956-1969

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By Achim Hockdorfer, Maartje Oldenburg, Barbara Schroder, Ann Temkin and Claus Oldenburg Comprising the artist’s key writings from the late 1950s and 1960s, this volume makes avail able a wealth of previously unpublished material, including sections of the diary Oldenburg kept during these formative years, his notes (written on an old typewriter in his studio while standing), facsimiles of sketches that show his abiding interest in the relationship between image and language, plus statements, essays, scripts for Happenings and poems. In diverse styles, vivid descriptions of his environment alternate with intimate confessions, humorous anecdotes, psychological observations and self-analysis, characterizations of the art world and its protagonists, and recurring inquests into his own motivations.This compilation, the first to be dedicated entirely to Oldenburg’s writings, shows an artist who is not only resolute, informed, and programmatic--deeply concerned with the art and society of his time--but also witty and playful in his confrontation with his own contradictions and ambiguities. The book provides a unique window into the formation and evolution of one of the most influential and ground- breaking contemporary artists, and a lively personal account of the 1960s. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2013 Softcover, 438 pages 8 x 11 inches Show more