Word: clothespins
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Oldenburg's drawings and sculpture realize the magic of his thought. The current exhibition, held jointly at the Institute of Contemporary Art, in Boston, and Hayden Gallery at MIT, focuses on six themes the Swedish-born sculptor has developed over the last ten years: "Geometric Mouse", "Three-way Plug", "Clothespin", "Fagends", "Typewriter Eraser", and "Standing Mitt with Ball". In each case, Oldenburg considers a commonplace object, analyzes it in terms of texture, volume, form, etc., then manipulates the essence he has extracted. Using a process of free association, he fuses images, correlating aspects of the original object to other things...
...simple utilitarian objects Oldenburg uses as a foundation for his creation inspire him with affection, even reverence. He says about the clothespin...
...Clothespins are a studio necessity for me. With clothespins I join parts of soft sculpture in preparation for sewing. Clothespins are the instruments of connection which are so important in the fabrication of my work. The most efficient clothespin is the old-fashioned one which has the little spring on it. I prefer the ones made of wood. My studio is full of clothespins. I handle these objects. After a while I begin to see them as much larger structures than they actually are, and think about enlarging them. They have an architectural character, like the three-way plugs which...
Quite literally, Oldenburg envisions these objects--clothespins, or three-way plugs--as monuments. With the exception of the Typewriter Eraser, each has been executed on a colossal scale. These colossi are impressive: a ten-foot clothespin towers up in golden splendour, refined, stripped to bare geometric form; a 20-foot vinyl three-way plug hangs limply from the ceiling, inviting caresses. (In the present exhibit, the larger pieces are at MIT, while the drawings, for the most part, are at the ICA. The MIT part of the exhibit should be seen after the ICA portion, since the large sculptures...
With minute accretions, Benny developed a persona that was never more than 39, intolerably stingy-he drove an old, wheezy Maxwell-and cranky beyond repair. When radio grew static he opened a 20-year feud with Fred Allen. Benny put a clothespin on his nose and mimicked Allen's nasal delivery. When Waukegan planted a tree in Benny's honor, Allen asked, "How do you expect it to live when the sap is in Hollywood?" Once when Benny was on the losing end of an exchange, he told Al len, "You wouldn't dare say that...