Art and Play

Art and Play:

Marcel Duchamp, Alexander Calder, Jean Tinguely,

Claes Oldenburg, Elizabeth Murray, and Joseph Cornell

(Book Proposal)

Caroline Rutledge Armijo

North Carolina State University

Masters of Liberal Studies

Fall 2003

Art and Play (Book Proposal)

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“The idea—demystifying art, making it more accessible—appealed to me. It’s great for kids to

get the feeling art is about play and you can play with it.”1

Elizabeth Murray

Often, we find ourselves alone, busy working on a project. It could stem from an idea inspired by

reading a favorite book, watching a movie, eating in a new restaurant, or visiting an amusement

park. Is it art? Is it work? Is it play? Why can’t it be all of these things? In these pages you will

read about a series of artists who meld all of these things into one. Reading about their lives,

beginning with their childhoods, we will see how early influences lead to playful ideas that don’t

always fit on a canvas. Many of these artists began in different careers, including journalism or

sales. What’s best represented is how they were mindful of their surroundings and incorporated

their interests into the message that they wanted to convey. I chose a series of artists whose work

is playful because I believe that it is important to enjoy any work you do as much as play. During

periods of play, you are working—testing new ideas, exploring new methods, and creating new

works of art. By fusing art, work, and play, one can lead a creative and memorable life.

You will also find a glossary, which will help you with unfamiliar words. There will be a series

of suggested activities to help you create artwork in the respective styles of the featured artists.

These activities might involve preliminary studies or final projects. An activity worksheet is

available to record the development of your projects. There is also a section to help you plan to

visit artwork and record the experiences of your visit; a space to document all of your tools that

you use on various art projects; and a resource center to list favorite art museums or galleries,

books, web sites, and magazines that inspire you. A contact list can help you establish a network

of resources. All of this information is helpful as you begin to explore the art world and your

contribution to it. A biography sheet will also ask you a series of questions to help you think

about your interests and stories that may inspire your artwork. Enjoy!

1 Henry, Clare. (November 6, 2002). Visual Arts New York: Art Gets Canine for Kids. London: Financial Times Limted. USA Edition 1.


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Marcel Duchamp

[include pictures of Duchamp as a child and an adult]

You can't believe that you are in Paris! You never thought that you would get here. And you're

really here! The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, real croissants... and now you are off for a day of art,

and not any of that old stuff in heavy gold frames. You are off to the Pompidou Center. Look at

this place! You step into a glassed-in escalator taking you up the exterior of the building. On

your left you have a preview of all the bright colors inside. On the right, you can see more and

more of the city as you rise to the top. Inside you can't believe all of the bright colors- giant

paintings, sprawling sculptures, and amazing photographs. Next thing you know, you find

yourself standing in front of a bicycle wheel mounted on top of a stool. What is this? A mistake?

Is this art? Or is someone fixing their bike and why are they doing it here? You have to find out

what exactly is going on here...

Sometimes we see a piece of art and are confused by how to react. We look at the name of it to

see if it helps us to understand what the artist wants to communicate. Some art conveys messages

that the artist wants to express. The messages might be shocking, pleasant, or sad. But have you

ever stopped to think that some of the art was rather funny or intriguing? Did it cross your mind

that the artist was trying to play with you?

Beginning in the late 1800s, several artists would form groups based on their beliefs about

creating art. These groups became movements in the art world. They are most easily identified

with the suffix –ism. A few examples include Futurism, Cubism Dadaism, and Surrealism. These

groups were all part of a larger movement called Modernism, which includes modern art. In what

Marcel Duchamp refers to as “eight years of swimming lessons,”2 he explored several of the

Modern movements, including Impressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism. Yet, he never fit in.

2 Naumann, Francis M. (1999). Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Making Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. (p. 37). New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.


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During the early 1900s, Duchamp was trying to find his place in the art world. He grew up in a

family that created and appreciated art. His grandfather, Emile Frederic Nicolle (1830-1894) was

a French artist and master printmaker. In the 1860s, several of his caricatures and illustrations

were published in Le Petit Journal and placed on display at the Salon de Paris. He even wrote a

small booklet on how to do various printing techniques. Seeing their grandfather’s art on the

walls and his advocation for printmaking influenced the grandchildren, including Marcel, his

brothers, and sister, to choose careers in art.3

Duchamp began experimenting with printmaking in his teens. By the time he graduated from

school, he was awarded honors for his artwork. He then joined his brothers and sister at the

Académie Julian, an art school in Paris. Outside of class, he kept several sketchbooks and further

explored the field of printmaking. His older brother, Jacques Villon, helped teach him different

techniques. During this time, he also created many illustrations, which were published in

magazines, used on menus for special events, and shown in annual art exhibits.4 [Include pictures

of early illustrations and menu for special event]

When he painted “Nude Descending a Staircase” at the Armory Show in 1913, the Cubists were

furious. They thought that he was making fun of them. This painting showed each step of a

figure overlapping the next motion as it descended down the staircase. The layered image of each

step made by the flat cubist-like body resulted in a painting that looks similar to layered cedar

shingles found on a house.5 [Include a picture of Nude Descending a Staircase]

Duchamp’s paintings showed movement like another group from Italy called the Futurists,

although he had not seen their work before he painted the piece. The painting did not fit into the

philosophy by which the Cubists described their work. Duchamp decided that he was not

interested in being a part of a group or a movement. He also decided that he did not want to

create art that only looked good. Duchamp defined retinal painting in a 1968 interview with the

BBC. “You look at a painting for what you see, what comes on your retina, you see? You would

3 Naumann, p. 28. 4 Tompkins, Calvin. (1965). The Bride and the Bachelors: Five Masters of the Avant-Garde. (p. 30-35). New York, NY: Penguin Books. 5 Tompkins, p. 22.


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add nothing intellectual about it, nothing else than what the visual... is on....”6 The word retinal

refers to the retina of the eye and only satisfying the eye. Duchamp wanted his art to satisfy the

mind. He wanted to make art that made people think, laugh, and play. His art was more

intellectual or conceptual. Duchamp wanted to open the experience of art up to everyone, not just

the artists who created the work and the rich people who could afford to buy it. Calvin

Tompkins, an art critic, said, “[Duchamp] suggested that art could be a form of play, a game

between the artist and the onlooker.”7 Duchamp believed that the participant, the person looking

at the art, was just as important, if not more, than the artist. By looking at the art and trying to

understand what it means, the participant is completing the creative process of the artwork.8

In the mid-1910s, Duchamp gave up painting and moved to Readymades, everyday objects that

he bought from a store and signed. Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel [include picture of Bicycle Wheel]

could easily be considered a toy. He speaks of the joy he found in the spinning bicycle wheel that

he mounted upside down to a kitchen stool. Duchamp said, “It just came about as a pleasure,

something to have in my room, the way you have fire or a pencil sharpener, except that there was

no usefulness. It was a pleasant gadget, pleasant for the movement it gave.”9 With this type of

conceptual art work, he was playing with everyday objects by using them for something other

than their original purpose.

As part of the evolution of the Readymades, Duchamp added a verbal playfulness to the visual

art by incorporating puns into the titles of the pieces. Duchamp’s use of puns was an intellectual

word game for the spectator. In advance of a broken arm [include picture of In advance of a

broken arm], for example, brought to mind a mishap that is often associated with snow, yet it is

not what the viewer would expect as a description or title of the new store-bought shovel.

Duchamp said, “That sentence instead of describing the object like a title was meant to carry the

mind of the spectator towards other regions more verbal.”10 By this Duchamp means that he does

6 Blackwell, Joan. (June 5, 1968). BBC Interview with Marcel Duchamp. The Late Show Line Up. London: BBC Television. In Naumann, Francis M. (1999). Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Making Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. (p. 300). New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 7 Tompkins, p. 14. 8 Tompkins, p. 18. 9 Tompkins, p. 26. 10 Stiles, Kristine and Seiz, Peter. (Eds.) (1996). Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art. (pp. 819-820). Berkley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.


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not want to create the meaning of the art for the participant, but remind the viewer of an

overheard story, an event that happened to them, or an accident that they had anticipated after a

heavy snow. The spectator gives the art meaning and completes the work or plays with the object

in their mind.

Duchamp’s largest work, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even, was never finished.

Also known as The Large Glass, he worked on this piece for eight years. The artwork included

different mechanical objects placed throughout two glass panes, including a chocolate grinder,

sieves, a watermill, and the bachelors, which were nine malic molds. Once moving the piece, the

glass panes shattered, creating a large crack throughout the artwork. Duchamp liked the result

and attributed it to chance. Although he did not finish the work, it led to a lifelong series of

subsequent work. Duchamp even had a book written about all of the drawings, notes, and ideas

that contributed and evolved as part of the artwork. At the request of Duchamp, photographer

Man Ray also took a series of pictures of the dust developing on The Large Glass.11 [include

pictures of The Large Glass and Man Ray’s photograph of dust on art work]

In The Box in a Valise (Boîte-en-valise), Duchamp created a traveling museum to store miniature

versions of his original paintings, creations, and Readymades disguised in a suitcase [include

picture of The Box in a Valise (Boîte-en-valise)]. A valise is a small piece of luggage that can be

carried by hand. He needed a way to carry his artwork out of France without being caught by the

Nazis. Posing as a cheese salesman, Duchamp was able to leave France without anyone

suspecting that inside was a meticulous exhibit of all of his controversial works of art. After

arriving in America, he would reproduce 200 versions of the The Box in a Valise (Boîte-en-

valise) years later. His friend and fellow fan of chess, Joseph Cornell, helped him to recreate the

copies. He would give or sell these reproductions to his friends.12 He also created a miniature

reproduction of Nude Descending a Staircase for a friend’s daughter’s dollhouse.

11 Naumann, p. 83. 12 Blair, Lindsay. (1998). Joseph Cornell’s Vision of Spiritual Order. (p. 41). London: Reaktion Books.


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Marcel’s older brother, Jacques, once etched a picture of Marcel playing chess with his sister

Suzanne during their youth.13 Duchamp’s love for the game never faded. He loved chess so

much that he created a version of chess that could be played over a distance, through the mail,

using rubber stamps to mark each move. He also carved a set of chess pieces by hand, except for

the knight, which he designed and had carved by a local artisan.14 [include pictures of hand

carved chess pieces and mail chess design] In 1943, Duchamp created a gallery announcement

for a show entitled “Through the Big End of the Opera Glass,” which included small pieces of art

by himself, Joseph Cornell, and Yves Tanguy. Duchamp created a clue to how to win a chess

game by instructing the reader to hold the announcement up to the light. A cupid’s arrow

illustrates the instructions “White to Play and Win.” Duchamp submitted “Pocket Chess Set” to

the show. He was once seen playing himself and, when asked, replied he was playing “Marcel

vs. Duchamp.”15 [Include picture of gallery announcement for “Through the Big End of the

Opera Glass” and “Pocket Chess Set”]

After 1923, Duchamp spent most of his energy on chess. He moved away from the art world and

became a cult figure in certain circles. People thought that he lived a deliberate lifestyle, as if

each public move he made was strategic. Furthermore, because he was not often heard from,

people compared his life even more to a chess game, where each move is slow, thought out, and

infrequent.

Duchamp describes his love for playing the game of chess and likens it to creating art. He said,

“A chess game is something very plastic. You build it. It is a mechanical sculpture, with chess

one creates beautiful problems and this beauty is made with the head and the hands.”16 Duchamp

is not interested in winning or losing at chess, but emphasizes the similar feeling he has playing

the game to creating art. He enjoys the process.

By studying the clues of Duchamp’s artwork, we can continue to participate in the game he

started through the masterpieces he left behind.

13 Naumann, p. 31. 14 Naumann, p. 78-80. 15 Naumann, pp. 156-157. 16 Arman, Yves. (1984). Marcel Duchamp Plays and Wins. (p. 87). New York, NY: Gallery Yves Arman.


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Annotated Bibliography

Naumann, Francis M. (1999). Marcel Duchamp: the art of making art in the age of mechanical

reproduction. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

A beautifully designed book details the life of Marcel Duchamp with numerous photographs,

documents and sketches, beginning with Duchamp’s artistic family spanning across his

interactions with others throughout his career.

Duchamp: A Biography by Calvin Tomkins

Tomkins, Calvin. (1976). The Bride and the Bachelors: Five Masters of the Avant-Garde. New

York, NY: Penguin Books.

Duchamp: Great Modern Masters (Great Modern Masters Series) edited by Jose Maria Faerna

Joseph Cornell/Marcel Duchamp...Resonance by Susan Davidson.

The Definitively Unfinished Marcel Duchamp by Thierry deDuve (Editor)

Unpacking Duchamp: Art in Transit by Dalia Judovitz

Online Resources

A&E Biography.com

www.biography.com

This web site presents biographical information of the infamous painter with links to other artists

he influenced.

Art and Culture

www.artandculture.com

A thorough web site with a detailed organization of the arts and culture that presents the

highlights of Duchamp’s career, along with recommended readings and URLs, related artists and


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movements, and a long list of keywords that lead you to explore the great influence that

Duchamp had in the art world.

Art Minimal & Conceptual Only

http://members.aol.com/mindwebart3/marcel.htm

The Marcel Duchamp World Community Web Site

http://www.MarcelDuchamp.net/

The Marcel Duchamp World Community Web Site offers a neutral, unbiased, internet location

for the meeting and exchange of ideas among the international community of people interested in

Marcel Duchamp studies. The site welcomes news, events, publications, papers -- anything

related to Marcel Duchamp and his larger circle of friends in Dada and Surrealism.

Mark Harden's texas.net Museum of Art

http://lonestar.texas.net/~mharden/artchive/ftptoc/duchamp_ext.html

Art Science Research Laboratory

http://www.artscienceresearchlab.org/

Scholars commit this New York based not-for-profit organization, to the creation of intellectual

environments, in the three areas of interdisciplinary research, collections and publishing, and the

facilitation and advocacy of the actual practice of interdisciplinary studies.

Where in the World (Places to Visit the Art Work)

MOMA MoMA QNS

33 Street at Queens Blvd.

Long Island City, Queens

(212) 708-9400

http://www.moma.org/

• Bicycle Wheel

• Why Not Sneeze Rose Sélavy?


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Philadelphia Museum of Art Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 26th Street | Philadelphia, PA 19130

Main Museum Number: (215) 763-8100 | TTY: (215) 684-7600

http://www.philamuseum.org/

• The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even

(The Large Glass)

• Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2)

• Marcel Duchamp as Rrose Sélavy

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection Palazzo Venier dei Leoni

701 Dorsoduro

30123 Venice, Italy

http://www.guggenheim-venice.it/

• Nude (Study), Sad Young Man on a Train (Nu [esquisse], jeune homme triste dans un train),

• Box in a Valise (Boîte-en-valise), 1941

Suggested Activities

1. Create a Readymade of your own by purchasing an inspiring object. Name your new

masterpiece, sign it and put it on display.

2. Create an artwork or a new way to play your favorite game/sport/recreational activity. Design

a miniature basketball court or a new deck of cards.

3. Create your own Boîte-en-valise. Find a small suitcase to carry and store recreated miniature

versions of your artwork. Shrink larger pieces of artwork to fit into the valise by reducing them

on a color copier or with a computer. Don’t forget about your Readymade. Maybe you can find a

smaller version of a Readymade at a toy store. Share your artwork with other people.

4. Several artists of all mediums use portfolios to put together their work into a format that is

easy to share with others. People use their portfolios in a job interview as an example of previous

work experience or to sell their art work to someone. Students also use portfolios of their work

to apply to specialty schools, including art, design and architecture. How would your Boîte-en-

valise be different from your portfolio? What would you include in each? Would you include

different projects depending on who you were sharing it with?


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Alexander Calder

[include picture of Calder as a child and an adult] You have been on New York City’s Museum Mile all morning and now you are ready for a

break. Walking back from Fifth Avenue, your friend grabs your sleeve and drags you into the

lobby of the Whitney. “You’ll never believe this! This guy’s circus puts any of our action figures

to shame. He made them all out of wire and they really work!” In the lobby, a huge glass box

holds all of the circus characters set up with their props. There are so many different animals and

people. You want to start pushing the train around and make the belly dancer swing her hips. A

security guard standing near by taps you on the shoulder. You jump back because you realize

that your face is mashed up against the glass to take EVERYTHING in. He laughs and points

overhead. “The video is about to start. You two are welcome to sit down and watch it.” Who

knew this old guy with white hair likes to play with this elaborate toy circus. And the characters

interact with each other – and no batteries! Amazing – you hope that you are that cool when

you’re his age.

Alexander Calder, third-generation sculptor, did not begin his career as an artist. He said, “I

began by studying engineering. But after four years I decided that engineering did not allow

enough play or ingenuity on my part.”17 In consideration of his own work, the importance of play

takes him back to a simple philosophy of how a sculptor should approach their choice medium.

He once said:

I feel an artist should go about his work simply with great respect for his materials… Sculptors of all places and climates have used what came ready to hand. They did not search for exotic and precious materials. It was their knowledge and invention which gave value to the result of their labors… Simplicity of equipment and an adventurous spirit in attacking the unfamiliar or unknown… In my own work, when I began using wire as a medium, I was working in a medium I had known since a child. For I used to gather up the ends of copper wire discarded when a cable had been spliced and with these and some beads would make jewelry for my sisters’ dolls.18

17 Evans, Myfanwy and Howe, Gerold (Eds.). (1937). Mobiles. In The Painter’s Object. London. Retrieved February 22, 2002 at http://www.calder.org/. 18 Sweeney, James Johnson. (1951). Alexander Calder. 29 September-28 November 1943. (p. 20). New York: Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved February 22, 2002 at http://www.calder.org/.


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Calder often talked about making toys as part of his play activities. “When I was a kid,” he said,

“I had many toys but I was never satisfied with them. I always developed and expanded the

collection with additions made from wire, copper and other materials.”19 By continuously

inventing and reinventing toys to play with, Calder prepared himself for an acclaimed life filled

with art that continues to encourage people to play.

In 1923, while Calder worked for the National Police Gazette newspaper, one day he was asked

to cover the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus where he sketched all of the

different characters of the circus. He was especially skilled at simple line drawings. [include

picture of line drawings] Although the newspaper did not use the drawings because the circus

failed to give the newspaper the promised tickets, Calder was able to transform his drawings into

wire characters. Using the wire he remembered from his childhood, his small colorful characters

developed an enchanting playful world. Calder recalls,

The first year that I was in Paris [1926-1927], I met a Serbian who was involved in the toy business, and who assured me that there was a living to be made from inventing mechanical toys. Due to my lack of funds, this sparked my interest.…My Serbian friend had long since departed, but I was now immersed in making toys and I made up my mind to design an entire circus.20

What started out as two suitcases of circus characters and props eventually evolved into five

suitcases of what was described as “a mix between a diorama, a child’s toy, and a fair game.”21

Calder would invite people to his studio on the rue de la Colonie in Paris, where he would hold

performances of his circus. [include picture of circus] Calder would take the animals and toy

circus performers and move them through the props that he created. With careful engineering, he

was able to mimic the movement of the animals and trapeze artists and his guests were enthralled

with the performance. The trapeze artists jumped from one swing to another. Two rescue

workers arrive with a stretcher after any falls. A belly dancer actually danced with a small turn of

a handle. [include picture of belly dancer] After a sword eater swallowed his sword, the lion

tamer stuck his head into the mouth of a ferocious lion. [include picture of lion] Every detailed

act of the circus was enthusiastically acted out.

19 Calder, Alexander. (1952). Voici une petite histoire de mon cirque (Here is a Little History of My Circus). In Permanence du Cirque. Revue Neuf, Paris. Retrieved February 22, 2002 at http://www.calder.org/. 20 Ibid. 21 American Masters: Alexander Calder. New York, NY: Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved February 22, 2002 at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/calder_a.html.


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Calder became popular among the local Parisian artists, writers, and musicians, including Marcel

Duchamp. The circus performance even appeared in one of Thomas Wolfe’s novels, You Can’t

Go Home Again.22 Calder was famous because of his circus. Still, he is best known for his

mobiles, large abstract shapes of color moving gently through the air.

In 1931, while Calder was living on rue de la Colonie, he became friends with an artist named

Piet Mondrian, who worked in large shapes of primary colors and black grid lines. Calder recalls

visiting his studio one sunny afternoon, which was the inspiration for what would become his

mobiles.

I was very much moved by Mondrian’s studio, large, beautiful and irregular in shape as it was, with the walls painted white and divided by black lines and rectangles of bright color, like his paintings. It was very lovely, with a cross-light [there were windows on both sides], and I thought at that time how fine it would be if everything there moved; though Mondrian himself did not approve of this idea at all, I went home and tried to paint. But wire, or something to twist, or tear, or bend, is an easier medium for me to think in.23

[Include picture of Mondrian’s work]

Returning to his most intuitive medium of wire, he first created sculptures of abstract colorful

shapes that were attached to a motor by wire. The motor would drive the movement of the

shapes. One day Duchamp visited Calder at his studio and was enchanted by the moving

sculpture. Calder was at a loss for what to call the new work. “Duchamp suggested the term

mobile—in French, a pun that suggests both motion and motive—to describe this work, as well

as the category of kinetic art to which it belonged.”24 In English we use the term mobile to mean

moving easily and it has become synonymous with Calder’s creations. Duchamp thus introduced

his love of puns into Calder’s new creation. This play on words of the name was just one of the

many ways that the mobile would eventually invite the onlooker to play. [Include picture of an

early mobile]

22 Wolfe, Thomas. (1998) Piggy Logan’s Circus. In You Can’t Go Home Again. (pp. 257-266). New York, NY: HarperPerennial. (Original work published in 1947). 23 Evans, Myfanwy and Howe, Gerold (Eds.). 24 Early Mobiles. In Alexander Calder: The Breakthrough Years, 1925-1934. San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved February 22, 2002 at http://www.sfmoma.org/escape/calder/calder_earlymobiles.html.


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With the mobiles, Calder was able to masterfully simplify the movements of the circus

characters and toys into an abstract work of art. These peaceful, giant toys give the same joy to

the spectator as Duchamp earlier described with the creation of his Bicycle Wheel. Mobiles have

become common household objects, as it is now customary to place one in a newborn’s crib.

Calder created the model for a baby’s first introduction to play and art.

The name mobile triggered the naming of a new form of work that Calder explored. Calder

recalls, “…Jean Arp said to me, ‘Well, what were those things you did last year—stabiles?’

Whereupon, I seized the term and applied it first of all to the things previously shown at Percier’s

and later to the large steel objects.”25 The word stabile implies that something is grounded and

unable to move—the opposite of mobile. Stabiles were an appropriate term for the sculptures

that followed the mobiles. They were large steel abstract interpretations of animals, people, and

simplified objects, often many stories tall. Although he preferred black, Calder continued to use

primary colors for the monochromatic artwork, as he did with the mobiles. The artwork is bolted

to the ground, and the viewer walks in, out, and around the large pieces, exploring the movement

that the shapes make relative to the landscape. The sculptor creates an abstract modern

playground, as each view creates a new idea for the audience with the interrelationship between

the sharp angles and curved lines.

For the 1967 World Expo in Montreal, Calder created his largest stabile, Man, which currently

stands on the Isle of St. Helene. The size of the piece is monumental. Below the four bowing legs

of the sculpture, the spectator can walk, run, turn cartwheels, and jump. Beneath the center of the

sculpture, a plaque tells about the origins of the monument and the plans for a future event: the

original plans for Man are buried under the inscription and will be opened at a celebration in

2067. [Include picture of Man]

Some of Calder’s most impressive pieces are household objects he and his wife Louisa used

everyday in their homes and studios in Roxbury, Connecticut, and France. From trash cans to

forks and spoons, toilet paper holders and children’s toilet trainers, Calder did not believe in

buying anything that he could make. He found great joy in creating ornate jewelry for Louisa to

25 Calder, Alexander and Davidson, Jean. (1966). An Autobiography with Pictures. (p. 130). New York, NY: Pantheon Books.


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wear with a simple blouse. He would also make noisemakers and create toys for his

grandchildren out of tin cans and cigar boxes. He even used scrap metal and wire to construct a

small Valentine for his wife. When visiting Calder’s cluttered studios, he told photographer

Pedro E. Guerrero, “Be careful where you step. Everything here is important.”26 [Include picture

of homemade toys in Calder’s home]

Calder successfully encouraged people to look at art, objects, movement, and their environment

in a playful, childlike way. A playful father, friend and artist, Calder is renowned for his success.

“At the Guggenheim, there had been few large stabiles and many very small objects suitable for

children to bat and crush,” Calder recalled in 1965, “To this, I attribute my success. My fan mail

is enormous—everybody is under six.”27


Calder, Alexander and Davidson, Jean. (1966). An Autobiography with Pictures. New York, NY:

Pantheon Books.

Wolfe, Thomas. (1998) You Can’t Go Home Again. New York, NY: HarperPerennial. (Original work published in 1947). Wolfe's lengthy novel features a portrayal of Calder's Circus in Chapter 18 "Piggy Logan's

Circus."

Greenfield, Howard. (2003) The Essential Alexander Calder. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams,

Inc.

This pocket-size survey of Calder's art career is full of pictures, stories, and art history.

Guerrero, Pedro E. (1998). Calder at Home: The Joyous Environment of Alexander Calder. New

York, NY: Archetype Press, Inc.

Guerrero presents his collection of photographs documenting the home life of his close friend,

Alexander Calder.

26 Guerrero, Pedro E. (1998). Calder at Home: The Joyous Environment of Alexander Calder. (p. 22). New York, NY: Stewart, Tabori & Chang. 27 Calder and Davidson, p. 271.


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Rose, Timothy. (2000). The Interactivity Kit: Exploring the Fine Art of Mobiles. San Francisco,

CA: Chronicle Books.

This small kit provides an introduction to the world of mobiles and a detailed guide on how to

create them. Tiny mobile parts and a base help you to create your first mobile within minutes of

opening the box.

Online Resources

http://www.calder.org/

The official web site of Alexander Calder includes important text resources, including:

• Calder, Alexander. “Mobiles” The Painter’s Object, edited by Myfanwy Evans, Gerold

Howe, London, 1937.

• Sweeney, James Johnson., Alexander Calder, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1951.

Revised version of catalogue for exhibition held 29 September-28 November 1943

(extended to 16 January 1944).

• Calder, Alexander, “Voici une petite histoire de mon cirque (Here is a Little History of

My Circus)” Permanence du Cirque, Revue Neuf, Paris, 1952.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

http://www.sfmoma.org/espace/calder/calder_intro.html

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art presents an extensive online exhibit of Calder and his

art career.

“American Masters – Alexander Calder”

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/calder_a.html

This web site supplements the PBS American Masters series. A copy of the video is available

from Winstar Home Entertainment.


www.enchantedlearning.com/artists/calder


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Oral History Interview with Alexander Calder at Perls Gallery, October 26, 1971. Interviewer:

Paul Cummings, Smithsonian Archives of American Art.

http://archivesofamericanart.si.edu/oralhist/calder71.htm

This extensive interview with Calder covers his education, development of his circus, interaction

with fellow artists, exhibits and his feeling on the color red.

http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/caldwel.htm

High-Wire Acts of Art By Ann Elliott Sherman

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/11.26.97/arts-9748.html

High-Wire Acts of Art: In his mobiles, Alexander Calder made engineering a playful pursuit By

Ann Elliott Sherman


Flamingo, Chicago

Be sure to visit the miniature in the lobby of the post office next to the sculpture.

Untitled (aka East Building Mobile)

National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Man

from 1967 Montreal Expo

Mobile, 1953

Grosse Pointe Public Library. Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan

http://www.gp.lib.mi.us/information/

Calder's Circus On permanent display in the lobby with a 19 minute video of Calder’s

performance on a loop.

Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY


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La Grande Vitesse "High Speed"

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Mobile, circa 1934

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY


701 Dorsoduro

30123 Venice, Italy


• Mobile, circa 1934

• Mobile, 1941

• Silver Bedhead, winter 1945-46

• Le Grand Passage, 1974


1. Develop your own circus or miniature act that you can present to family and friends. Be sure

to document your performance with sketches of your plans and pictures of the completed project.

2. Create a mobile out of plastic, heavy construction paper or thin metal. Begin by trying to

balance the abstract shapes on wire.

3. Using sheets of heavy construction paper or thin metal, construct a miniature stabile and be

sure to name it.

4. Create a time capsule related to one of your sculptures similar to Calder’s instructions that he

buried under Man in Montreal. Include instructions on how you made the original piece; pictures

of you and your artwork, and a description of any games or activities that you would like the

people to participate in after opening the time capsule.

5. Calder wrote colorful letters to his friends that include lots of drawings and letters, which

look similar to his mobiles. He would send these letters to many of his friends, inviting them to

visit. Handwrite a letter to a friend you have not seen in a while. How can you decorate it or

make it unique?


Page 18 of 67

Jean Tinguely

[include pictures of Tinguely as a child, an adult and with de Saint Phalle]

Your mom just picked you up from the library in downtown Charlotte. She has a few more

errands to run. She insists that the Carillon Building, where she has to pick up a package, holds a

big surprise. What is she talking about? You can’t believe your eyes! In the lobby a huge

sculpture hangs down from the ceiling. Lights are flashing, wheels are spinning, and you can

hear the noise of the motor. This is so awesome! The closer you look, the more things you

recognize, almost like a game of “I Spy!” A bicycle wheel, a lion’s head, bright lights, a balcony

railing, and some other crazy things you could probably find in your basement. You can stand

there looking at it for hours. Why haven’t you heard of this before? This looks like a great way to

do something with your old toys and your dad’s tools.

Revolutionary artist Jean Tinguely expressed his understanding of the interconnectedness

between art and play in a variety of creations. The position Tinguely places play in his work can

be found in his manifesto “Art is Revolution.” [include picture of “Art is Revolution”]

Art is Revolution By Jean Tinguely, sculptor in iron, Paris Modern Art: Playing – Iron – Suffering – Cooking – Filling – Exhibiting – Drilling – Scorching – Polishing – Burning off – Laughing – Setting up – Selling – Swearing – Pulling down – Welding – Packing – Mounting - Removing – etc. The relationship of art and play: playing is art – consequently I play. I play furiously. … Revolution is art28

Extract From The National-Zeitung, Basle, 13 October 1967

Tinguely’s description of modern art clearly illustrates the process that he goes through each day

as he plays and creates art. Each of the verbs in the definition have a specific meaning alone, but

when combined together, allow you to understand how deeply and furiously Tinguely is playing.

It is clearly a process that Tinguely enjoys, despite any suffering and swearing. Play is not

always filled with laughter; rather it is motivated by a heightened state of awareness in everyday

life. In order to understand the motivation behind Tinguely’s arduous dedication to his work,

Tinguely would often share the following story about his childhood.

28 Extract from the National-Zeitung, Basle, (October 13, 1967). In Hultén, K.G.Pontus, Jean Tinguley “Méta” (Boston: New York Graphic Society, 1975), p. 326.


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I began to make something pretty original: I spent weekends, Saturday and Sunday, one after another, beside a stream, rigging up lovely little wooden wheels…Art never entered my head…I used a stream in a wood (forest), but I must point out that it was a pine wood, a kind of cathedral, and with a cathedral’s acoustics… the sound was magnified fantastically. I built up to a dozen of these little wheels. They all turned at different speeds, and the speeds sometimes changed with the flow of the water. Every wheel had one cog…This one cog made the wheel rotate irregularly—as follows: it turned, struck a small hammer, which in turn struck small tincans of various kinds, some rusty, some not, and with different resonances. These sounds with their different rhythms were placed at intervals of between five and six meters, and sometimes the sound of the concerts carried for a distance of a hundred metros through the woods. Then I speculated whether somebody walking alone in the woods would be aware of the concert before hearing the sounds of the woods themselves. Sometimes the set-up went on functioning for several weeks. Of course it was bound to fall apart in the end, but some of the wheels went on running for months.29

Several elements from Tinguely’s story are found throughout his future work. They include the

use of chance and movement, various sounds and speeds, his consciousness of the surrounding

environment, the temporary life expectancy of the artwork, the use of scrap material for

construction, and concern for the viewer’s response to the piece.30 Although his primary focus is

movement, Tinguely’s work presents itself as an eager invitation to the audience to participate.

Eva Aeppli, Tinguely’s first wife, said that the Swiss-born Tinguely’s first creations “were a

perfect parody of the Swiss watch.”31 [include picture of early meta-matic] The mechanisms

eventually evolved into what Tinguely called meta-matics, which meant “beyond the machine.”

The meta-matics would create unique pieces of abstract art with a one-in-a-million chance that

the machine would make two artworks just alike.32 Each of the meta-matics held in position

some sort of marker, paintbrush, or pen and would draw on a blank sheet of paper with jerky,

unpredictable movements. By playing with the meta-matics, any average person could create

their own original work of modern art. Not only was it unlikely to recreate a piece of art twice,

one could not predict how long the meta-matic would live. They were likely to self-destruct

during an art show. The crazier the explosion, the more pleasure Tinguely received from the

event. To Tinguely, the idea of chance means that art was a surprise. He did not always have an

29 Hultén, p. 6. 30 Violand-Hobi, Heidi E., Jean Tinguely: Life and Work Munich and New York: Prestel, 1995) p.10. 31 Tompkins, p. 157. 32 Tompkins, p. 147.


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idea in mind what the final product would look like. Instead he enjoyed the process of creating

the work and the joy he would find in the end result, however long it might last.

Tinguely created Metamatic No. 17 for the first Youth Biennale in Paris. The gasoline-powered

sculpture was a dynamic playmate that created drawings for the exhibit visitors.33 [include photo

of Metamatic No. 17] The eight-foot machine would roll around and interact with people in a

way that his other machines previously had not. A large roll of paper attached to the machine

would spool off long sheets of original artwork. It would then automatically cut off the drawing

and hand them out with the aid of an electric fan. Other artists in the Biennale did not want the

roaming machine inside the museum with their work, so the machine was set up outside of the

museum. Metamatic No. 17 intrigued the visitors so much that many never went inside to see the

exhibit. Creating over 38,000 pieces of art during the Biennale’s two week display, Metamatic

No. 17 entertained the crowd by drawing, dancing, walking, and breaking down. Tinguely was

always close by to fix the machine who stole the show. 34 [include picture of Tinguely with

Metamatic No. 17 outside of the Biennale]

Some of Tinguely’s less mobile sculptures were often found dancing with colorful voluptuous

women known as Nanas. Niki de Saint Phalle, self-taught artist and Tinguely’s second wife,

began creating them after an inspiring visit from a pregnant friend during the mid-60s.35 de Saint

Phalle’s Nanas were large round women made of plaster. Every Nana wears a unique, brightly

colored coat of paint in wild patterns all over their rounded bodies. Nanas represent all of the

different roles of women. They are full of joy and movement. [include picture of a Nana] A

friend of de Saint Phalle’s pointed out the connection between some of her favorite activities and

the shape of many Nanas.

I remember Rockefeller Center where I went ice skating once a week. I loved mingling with a playful crowd. Jackie saw a connection between this and my walking on the beach every day in La Jolla, enjoying the human spectacle of surfers, kids and pelicans. She saw in these activities some of the basic motivation for my work, to like being a part of a scene, even though I am socially shy. I had

33 Violand-Hobi, p.34. 34 Tomkins, p. 164. 35 Biography. Retrieved March 29, 2003 at http://www.nikidesaintphalle.com/biography.html.


Page 21 of 67

never thought of it before. Most of my nanas do have a leg up in the air like ice skaters.36

This might also be the reason that de Saint Phalle has dedicated much of her art to public

exhibition so that people can experience her art in public not just inside of a gallery.

Tinguely and de Saint Phalle would create their own personal sculptures that seemed to interact

and play with one another. [include picture of Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle] Their first

playful collaboration was on display at the Montreal World Expo in 1967 for the French

Pavilion. Nine different groups of sculptures make up the Fantastic Paradise, six of which are

couples—one created by Tinguely, the other by Phalle. Tinguely’s black iron sculptures are

chasing, puncturing, or catapulting one of Phalle’s playful plaster nanas or other characters that

she created. The onlooker sees a unique interaction between a hard, black sculpture and this

large, playful, colorful character. In 1983, they were asked to work together on the Stravinsky

Fountain, to be located on the plaza above Insitut de Recherche et de Coordination Acoustique

Musique and between Centere Pompidou and Saint-Merri church in Paris.37 The fountain was

named for Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, whose work was closely associated with dance and

with Russian folk tunes and fairy tales. The fountain is made of sixteen sculptures, which are

similar to the Fantastic Paradise. Tinguely’s black metal sculptures and Phalle’s vivid sculptures

are playfully interacting with one another by squirting water at each other and at the spectator

visiting the fountain. According to Tinguely’s biographer, Heidi Violand-Hobi, “The fountain is

similar to the brightly colored page of a children’s book, and in the spirit of the composer’s

orchestration, the sound of the water forms syncopated patterns that emanate from the sculptures

in a dazzling variety of ways.”38 [include pictures of Fantastic Paradise and Stravinsky

Fountain]

de Saint Phalle’s Nanas not only played with Tinguely’s meta-matics, but one giant Nana

became a playground for thousands. During the summer of 1966, de Saint Phalle and Tinguely

created Hon-A Cathedral, which is the German word for “she.” After working for 40 days and

nights, the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden, opened the doors to thousands of eager

36 De Saint Phalle, Niki. (1999). Traces: An Autobiography Remembering 1930-1949. (p. 74). Fribourg, Switzerland: Acatos Publisher. 37 Violand-Hobi, p.100-103. 38 Violand-Hobi, p.100.


Page 22 of 67

viewers. [include picture of Hon] The participant entered the 82-foot long, brightly-colored

plaster woman through her legs into a two-story interior. Inside her, one would find a small

pond of gold fish. There was a slide that went down one of her legs. A bar that served drinks was

equipped with a bottle crusher created by Tinguely. There was a viewing area on top of her

stomach. A gallery of fake paintings led to a small movie projector on display. This temporary

playground was a memorable art exhibit that thousands of people enjoyed playing in.39

Hon led to many more indoor and outdoor installations for Tinguely and de Saint Phalle. In

1972, they created Golem, a 30-foot high by 60-foot wide black-and-white striped monster.

Three cherry red tongues coming out the monster’s bright red mouth are actually slides for

children to ride. Golem is located at Rabinovitch Park in Jerusalem, Israel. A giant Cyclops

found in the French Forest is one of de Saint Phalle’s greatest monsters. The couple worked on

Head from 1971 to 1994. Head is a giant mirror-mosaic playground that can be found in the

woods of France. There is a pool in the top and a slide coming out of the mouth. With the mirror

exterior, Head becomes more like a tree house than the other playground sculptures they have

created. It blends into the surrounding French forest and allows children to climb up into the

treetops from a swim in the pool, or play safely inside with a living area, complete with bedroom

and kitchen. The French Government now owns Head, a perfect tribute for the young Tinguely

who began exploring art beneath a canopy of trees.40 [include pictures of Golem and Head]

In the play world, Tinguely saw the activity, animation, and intellectual curiosity that was the

essence of life as well as art. As he said, “Life is play, movement, continual change.”41


Violand-Hobi, Heidi E. (1995). Jean Tinguely: Life and Work. Munich and New York: Prestel.

Hultén, K.G.Pontus. (1975) Jean Tinguley “Méta.” Boston: New York Graphic Society.

Tomkins, Calvin. (1976). The Bride and the Bachelors: Five Masters of the Avant-Garde. New


39 Sylwan, Barbro, Hultén, K. G., Melin, John, and Österlin, Anders. (1967). Hon’s Forhistoria 1955-1966. Stockholm, Sweden: Moderna Musset Stockholm Sweden. 40 Violand-Hobi, pp. 79-87. 41 Tomkins, p. 186.


Page 23 of 67

Hultén, Pontus, and Gunnar, Karl. Jean Tinguely: A Magic Stronger Than Death. (April 1988).

Abbeville Press, Inc.

Museum Jean Tinguely Basel: The Collection. (November 2000). Distributed Art Publishers.

Online Resources

www.artandculture.org

http://www.nikidesaintphalle.com/

The official web site of Niki de Saint Phalle.

http://glocal.avmz.uni-siegen.de/niki/test.htm

A detailed web site featuring Saint Phalle’s biography and various series of her works.

http://karaart.com/saint.phalle/life1.htm

This web site includes a biography and web site.

Artcyclopedia: Explore 125,000 Great Works of Art

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/tinguely_jean.html

The Museum Jean Tinguely Basel

http://www.tinguely.ch/


Tools 85

National Building Museum, Washington, DC http://www.toolsasart.com/artists/jtinguely.html

Cyclope (Head) in the Forest of Fontainebleau

http://www.art-public.com/cyclop/

Golem, Park Rabinovitch, Jerusalem


Page 24 of 67

Fountain and Kinetic Sculpture, Place Igor Stravinsky

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivan.pompfnt/pompfnt.htm

http://www.stud.enst.fr/~julien/temps/fontaine.html

Chaos I, Columbus, Indiana

http://www.kid-at-art.com/htdoc/chaos.html

Cascade Sculpture in Carillon Building, Charlotte, NC

http://www.artsandscience.org/publicart.asp


1. Find old machine parts (maybe from a cheap clock) and design your own meta-matic by

putting the pieces together. Remember that Tinguely’s creations never ran smoothly and would

often self-destruct. Is there a moving piece available that might resemble an arm? Add a marker

or paintbrush to create your own Tinguely-inspired art works. You can share these pieces with

friends.

2. Write a description of any secret place you would visit to create hidden worlds, like Tinguely.

Do any of your ideas used in your secret place show up in your artwork? Do you have any

pictures of these places? Draw a diagram based on your memory.

3. Write your own manifesto and plan a happening at which you will distribute it.

4. Draw a diagram of a playground similar to Hon or Head. Be sure to include the different

rooms that a visitor would discover through the maze. What type of artistic endeavors would

they encounter? Create a plan to actually build this playground.

5. Find a fellow artist who you can collaborate with. Your artwork does not have to be similar

but come up with a unique situation in which they can interact with one another, similar to

Fantastic Paradise and Stravinsky’s Fountain.


Page 25 of 67

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen

[include pictures of Oldenburg as a child and as an adult with van Bruggen]

It is blazing hot out! The Miami sun is beating down on you. After a day on the beach you are

ready to explore some cooler options. Striking out for ice cream, you cross through the Metro-

Dade Open Space Park. Right before your eyes, you realize what would really be refreshing — a

big juicy orange, just like the giant slices and peels in front of you. They look like a giant just

dropped them out of the sky, shattering the blue and white bowl; some are still falling into place.

When you look closer you realize that water is squirting out and that this is one crazy fountain.

The orange will have to wait!

Throughout urban and rural landscapes across three continents, you can find evidence that Claes

Oldenburg played there. Giant, colorful objects stand out from a great distance as they turn the

environment into a completely new situation: in Kansas City, Missouri, the Nelson-Atkins

Museum of Art is a net on a badminton course with four shuttlecocks on the lawn; an

intersection in the Netherlands is the end of a bowling lane with flying pens after a recent strike;

and Metro Dade Open Space Park in Miami is the scene of a recent accident with a dropped bowl

shattered along with slices of a bright, succulent orange and its peel. [include picture of

“Dropped Bowl with Scattered Slices and Peels” (1990)] How could anyone create such different

ways of thinking about a space with these simple but startling ideas?

Oldenburg likes to profess, “All of my ideas are original. I came up with them when I was a

kid.”42 Oldenburg would spend a lot of time playing in his father’s office, using all of his office

equipment and supplies, like the typewriter, scissors, and other everyday objects. Oldenburg

refers to a typewriter eraser as one of his favorite office supplies, which has been memorialized

in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.43 [Include picture of

typewriter eraser sculpture] During their playtime, he and his brother created a new country

42 Fineberg, Jonathan. (1997). The Innocent Eye: Children’s Art and the Modern Artist. (p. 227). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 43 National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art. Retrieved June 24, 2003 at http://www.nga.gov/feature/sculptgarden/sculpt12.htm


Page 26 of 67

called Neubern. They drew maps, wrote newspapers, and designed diagrams about everyday life

on this imaginary island. This emphasis on the everyday objects, which helped make Neubern so

real, stuck with him throughout his art career.44

After four years of study at Yale, Oldenburg decided that he wanted to study art and returned to

Chicago. When he first moved back to Chicago, he worked for the City News Bureau as an

apprentice reporter. Deciding that his first job as a reporter was not what he wanted to do, he

enrolled in the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1956, he decided that he wanted to focus on his art

full-time and moved to New York City. While working in the Cooper Union Library, he found a

children’s craft book that described how to make figures out of plaster of Paris. This was the

perfect medium for Oldenburg’s ideas for his artwork. He began making several objects out of

chicken wire, newspaper, and plaster. He would then sloppily paint them with bright colors that

often ran down the sides of the object.45

Oldenburg was inspired by all of the objects that made up New York City, including the things

people often overlook each day while walking down the busy urban streets. His first major series

of art, The Street, included everyday objects such as signs, figures, and even trash. As part of this

exhibit, Oldenburg hosted his first Happening, Snapshots from the City. [include picture of

Oldenburg at his first Happening]

Oldenburg continued exploring the everyday objects he found interesting and created The Store.

He rented a storefront space in the Lower East Side of Manhattan from which he sold his plaster

art pieces. All of the plaster objects were based on everyday items such as food, parts of

advertisements, and items from store front windows, like clothing. He also created another series

of Happenings based on The Store called Store Days I and II. [include picture of Oldenburg in

The Store] The props that he made for the event led to his large-scale soft sculptures. He would

create a giant version of a household object, like a light switch, a musical instrument, or a drum

set. He would make different versions, some soft and some hard. He would also create a ghost

version made out of plain white canvas. Oldenburg and critics agree that the soft version makes

44 Lee, Janie C. (2002). Claes Oldenburg Drawings in the Whitney Museum of American Art. (p. 17). New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 45 Celant, Germano (Ed.). (1995). Claes Oldenburg: An Anthology. (p. 36). New York, NY: Guggenheim Museum Publications.


Page 27 of 67

these inanimate objects seem almost fleshy and saggy like people. He also made huge absurd

objects, including Floor Burger (Giant Hamburger) and a series of objects based on what one

would find in the home. [include picture of Floor Burger]

In the mid-60s, Oldenburg began thinking about how his ordinary objects would look on a large

scale. Oldenburg said, “It’s something I don’t deny. It’s something I believe in and try to

maintain. The idea of a child being much smaller than an object is hard to remember but it

probably remains in the mind. For a child there is a point at which things seem very large ...”46

Through a series of drawing and collages, he placed ordinary objects in strange and unexpected

places. The idea behind Lipsticks in Piccadilly Circus, London, a collage Oldenburg created in

1966, led to a similar project. With his first large-scale monument, Lipstick Ascending, On

Caterpillar Tracks, he created a large tube of lipstick that sat on top of a military tank that was

displayed temporarily in front of a library at Yale University.47 [include pictures of Lipsticks in

Piccadilly Circus, London and Lipstick Ascending, On Caterpillar Tracks]

Once when flying into Chicago, he began to think about how an ordinary object would fit into

the city if it was on the scale of a large building. Holding an ordinary wooden clothespin up to

the window, he was inspired to create Clothespin. Clothespins were items that were all around

his studio. He used them to piece together the large soft sculptures that he created. It seemed like

the perfect fit for a city space.48 In 1976, Clothespin was installed in Centre Square Plaza in

Philadelphia. [include pictures of Clothespin] The opening ceremony of Clothespin in 1976 was

Coosje van Bruggen’s first trip to the United States. This was also around the same time that

Oldenburg began collaborating with van Bruggen. A native of Holland, van Bruggen was an

assistant curator at Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum at the same time the museum hosted

Oldenburg’s retrospective. This is when the couple first met. Van Bruggen co-edited the

exhibition catalog for Trowel I [include pictures of Trowel I], a gigantic garden spade stuck in

the large open grounds of the museum. She corresponded with him about the sculpture even after

the retrospective exhibit and after she left the museum to teach art history at the Academy of

Fine Arts in Enschede.

46 Fineberg, p. 227. 47 Oldenburg, Claes and Coosje van Bruggen. (1994). Large Scale Projects. (p. 210). New York : Monacelli Press. 48 Oldenburg and van Bruggen, p. 232.


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Oldenburg often sought van Bruggen’s advice on his large-scale projects. The couple agreed that

they would collaborate on all future sculptures. Today, if someone commissions them for a

project, they have established how they work together. If one of them does not agree with the

other, the project will not move forward. Van Bruggen, the poet and historian, and Oldenburg,

the artist, visit the commissioned site of a proposed project and start brainstorming about

common objects that make a place unique so that the sculpture would be site-specific. Their

ideas were presented to people who pay for the project. Because of the grand scale of their

projects, people commission, or put forth a large sum of money, to finance one of Oldenburg and

van Bruggen’s projects. Numerous paid people are involved in the development of the actual

artwork. The construction and materials alone are very expensive. This requires the project to be

well thought out before beginning, the opposite of Tinguely’s process, which is created in a trial

and error fashion. Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s large-scale projects serve as long-term

monuments. On the other hand, Tinguely’s sculptures often self-destructed before the end of his

exhibit opening.

In 1986, Oldenburg and van Bruggen began thinking about a project for a new urban and cultural

park in the Northeastern part of Paris. When searching in a book store, van Bruggen was inspired

by a book cover of a half-buried bicycle. This image tipped off a series of associations between

the bicycle and Paris—the Tour de France, the French-born Duchamp’s Bicycle Wheel, and the

bicycle patent developed by Jean Theson, a French man, in 1645.49

Choosing a child’s bicycle, the actual sculpture was made up of separate sculptures arranged to

create a fictional buried bicycle. A bicycle was actually buried in sand to determine the

sculptural pieces and their spatial relation to one another. Those objects were studied and models

were made before the artists instructed a contractor to build the actual sculptures in the park.50

Now children climb, crawl and slide along the giant parts of the buried bicycle growing out of

the lush green grass. Children use the white spring to swing up to the half of the black bicycle

49 Oldenburg and van Bruggen, p. 460. 50 Oldenburg and van Bruggen, pp. 462-463.


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seat and slide down. A pedal stands upright in the center of the park as children balance on the

crank and stand inside of the pedal. Half of a bicycle wheel and a few exposed spokes create a

shiny black slide. And a giant handle bar and bright blue bell complete the illusion of the buried

bicycle. [include picture of Buried Bicycle]

As in the shuttlecocks, flying pins and dropped bowl, many of the couple’s sculptures catch a

glimpse of movement and create an action that can fit into a story created by the viewer.

Oldenburg said,

Loving life and movement, I am always seeing movement even in the inanimate. I wish simply to create life, which is impossible as I go about it and result is with my materials the illusion of life, comic or ironic or absurd. It becomes stopped movement or just the opposite of movement. This happens even when my materials are living things, people fex [sic] (flex?). To freeze in space is of course the very character of art, my method.51

Oldenburg and van Bruggen created a Haunted House inside the Museum Haus Esters in

Krefield. The pristine historic museum appeared to be abandoned and dilapidated after the

installation. Oldenburg created the image of broken window panes over several existing

windows and walls. Large, forgotten objects “randomly accumulated from the city” were strewn

about the galleries as if tossed in through the broken windows. This exhibit was the perfect

display of Oldenburg’s oversized objects. Oldenburg and van Bruggen intentionally included

objects that people would not want and certainly did not fit in an art museum: a broken muffler,

an apple core, half of an automobile tire and a used match. “The Haunted House is based upon

random objects of a vacant suburban lot, objects set in their casual positions by some

disinterested force: a playing child, a passing vagrant, a gust of wind,” according to van

Bruggen. 52 [include pictures from The Haunted House]

Throughout the early career of Oldenburg and his collaborations with van Bruggen, it is apparent

that the couple continued to explore play with the objects from Oldenburg’s beloved childhood.

“I make my work out of my everyday experiences, which I find as perplexing and extraordinary

51 Celant, Germano. (1995). Claes Oldenburg and the Feeling of Things. In Claes Oldenburg: An Anthology. (p. 36). New York, NY: Guggenheim Museum Publications. 52 Claes Oldenburg: An Anthology. (October 7, 1995 - January 21, 1996). [online exhibition] New York, NY: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Retrieved January 22, 2003 at http://www.artnetweb.com/oldenburg/candc.html.


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as can be,” 53 said Oldenburg in 1960. The results are a wonderful playground, a new perspective

on an everyday object often overlooked, or an imaginative story to inspire future artists. [include

a series of small miniatures of all Large Scale Projects, almost like a sheet of stamps]


Celant, Germano. A bottle of notes and some voyages: Claes Oldenburg, Coosje van Bruggen.

Published by Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Sunderland and the Henry Moore Centre

for the Study of Sculpture Leeds City Art Galleries 1988.

This 1988 exhibit catalog features models and notebook drawings for several of Oldenburg’s and

van Bruggen’s large scale projects. The projects are Three-Way Plug, Screwarch, Cross-Section

of a Toothbrush, Blasted Pencil, Douse the Glim, The Haunted House, Stranded Piano, and

Bottles of Notes.

Claes Oldenburg: an anthology. (1995) The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York.

The essential Oldenburg profile includes a series of essays on the work of Oldenburg and a wide

array of the work he has completed throughout his career.

Claes Oldenburg: Multiples In Retrospect, 1964-1990.

This book features over 20 of Oldenburg’s Multiples projects beginning with the Ray Gun series

and ending with The Soap at Baton Rogue, which includes great drawings, collages and models

along with images of the final masterpieces.

Sylvester, David. Interviews with American Artists.

Predominantly commissioned by the BBC, these twenty-one interviews with American Artists of

the 20th century include a 1965 interview with Oldenburg at his ray gun studio.

Oldenburg, Claes and Coosje van Bruggen. (1994). Large Scale Projects.

53 Claes Oldenburg: An Anthology. (October 7, 1995 - January 21, 1996). [online exhibition] New York, NY: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Retrieved January 22, 2003 at http://www.artnetweb.com/oldenburg/index.html.


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A retrospective of all the large-scale projects Oldenburg and van Bruggen created together up

until 1994. Essays present how the two began working together and gives the reader a clear sense

of how the projects are actually completed with the use of hired contract work.

Lee, Janie C. (2002). Claes Oldenburg Drawings in the Whitney Museum of American Art. New

York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Online Resources


http://www.groveart.com/

Search for Claes Oldenbug on the most comprehensive online reference resource for all aspects

of the visual arts worldwide from prehistory to the present day.

ArtsNet Minnesota

www.artsconnected.org/artsnetmn/whatart/oldenb2.html

Claes Oldenburg: An Anthology

http://www.artnetweb.com/oldenburg/index.html Guggeinheim Museum October 7, 1995 - January 21, 1996 An online exhibit that accompanied the retrospective held at the Guggeinheim Museum. The web site features Oldenburg’s major works including Airflow, The Street, The Store, Soft Sculpture, Musical Instruments, Bedroom Ensemble, Proposed Colossal Monuments, Large Scale Projects, Happenings, Il Corso del Coltello, The Entropic Library, and biographies of Oldenburg and van Bruggen. Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen http://www.oldenburgvanbruggen.com/ The official web site of the artists includes detailed information about all of their large scale projects and writings about their work together.


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Torn Notebook, 1996

University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska,

http://sheldon.unl.edu/HTML/ARTIST/Oldenburg_C/SSII.html

Typewriter Eraser, Scale X, 1999

National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden

www.nga.gov/feature/sculptgarden/scuplt12.htm

Cupid’s Bow, 2002

Rincon Park, San Francisco, California

http://sfgate.com/cgi_bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/12/23/DD234651.dtl

Clothespin, 1976

Centre Square Plaza, Fifteenth and Market Streets, Philadelphia

Batcolumn, 1976

Harold Washington Social Security Center, 600 West Madison Street, Chicago

Crusoe Umbrella, 1979

Nollen Plaza, Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, Des Moines, Iowa

Flashlight, 1981

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Split Button, 1981

Levy Park, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Hat in Three Stages of Landing, 1982

Sherwood Park, Salinas, California


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Spoonbridge and Cherry, 1988

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

Dropped Bowl with Scattered Slices and Peels, 1990

Metro-Dade Open Space Park, Miami

Bicyclette Ensevelie (Buried Bicycle), 1990

Parc de La Villette, Paris

Free Stamp, 1989

Willard Park, Cleveland, Ohio

Shuttlecocks, 1994

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri


1. Take photographs of your surroundings and place an everyday object in it. Begin by taking a

picture of an interesting landscape you are familiar with. You can also find a landscape in a

magazine of use a postcard. Place an image in the landscape by drawing or cutting out a colossal-

sized object. You can also place a picture inside of the landscape using photo imaging software.

2. Capture the movement of everyday objects by drawing or sculpting an everyday object or toy

in motion. For example, Oldenburg’s dropped bowl, blueberry pie, torn notebook

3. Make a sculpture from toys.

4. Brainstorm with a friend to come up with a monument in your neighborhood. What makes the

place where you live unique? Is there a public art group you can propose the project to? What is

the process of presenting the idea?

5. Oldenburg created multiples for his store. Create a project where you make a series of

multiples by using a plastic mold or various printing techniques. Sign each piece with the name

of the artwork, your autograph, the number of the piece and the total number of pieces you


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created in the series. Multiples are fun projects to create because you can share them with your

family and friends while also keeping one for yourself.


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Elizabeth Murray

[include pictures of Murray as a child and as an adult]

You are moving your older sister on to the campus of University of California at San Diego. It’s

her freshman year and your mom is starting to sniffle as they put away the last set of towels. You

have to get out of her dorm room fast before your mom explodes into tears. Outside you start to

explore the campus. Walking through a patch of trees, a bright red object catches your eyes. Is

that a slide? What are those yellow things? Is that a giant shoe? You think that you recall seeing

a picture of it while watching your sister browse the campus web site. This was art? So crazy…

It’s almost like you are in a movie with a giant cartoon character whose shoe danced right off

their foot!

Elizabeth Murray often thinks of her paintings as expanding off of the wall. They appear to be

blowing up like a balloon or actually coming to life. She creates this feeling by painting vivid

colors and textures onto irregularly shaped canvases. Layers of shaped plaster gives the artwork

a third dimension.

Critics have compared her still-lives to Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Claes Oldenburg. They

have also agreed that despite the elements of many art styles, including Abstraction, Cubism and

Surrealism, Murray’s work is unclassified. If her paintings seem cartoon-like with their bright

colors and playful movements, there is a good reason; cartoons were the first artwork Murray

ever saw as a child, and she reminisced about her favorites, even as an adult. Murray loved the

Disney movies, especially those with more cartoon-like characters, such as Donald Duck, instead

of the more life-like images.54 She especially loved the beginning of Disney movies when the

book opened up and the scene came to life. She represented this in a recent painting called Open

Book. [include picture of Open Book] She was also influenced by the Warner Brothers

characters, such as Tweety Bird. Several of her paintings have a Tweety Bird shaped image

painted inside. [include picture of Beginner]

54 Henry, Clare.


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This early influence by cartoon artists made her want to be a commercial artist. She even wrote

Disney and inquired to see if she could be a secretary. As she was studying at the Art Institute of

Chicago from 1958-1962, she worked in the museum. She was familiar with all of the famous

works of art housed in the museum, which range from prehistoric to the most contemporary art

in the world. This exposure to fine art helped her decide to become a painter instead of a

commercial artist. Upon seeing Cezanne’s still-life The Basket of Apples (1895), Murray began

to experiment with painting and had a revelation. “I still feel it’s a miracle, a first awakening. It

was the first time in years that I felt I didn’t need anyone’s approval for something.”55 [include

picture of The Basket of Apples]

After finishing her undergraduate degree in Chicago, Murray moved to Oakland, California to

get her Masters of Fine Arts at Mills College in 1964. In 1965, Murray married and knew that

she really wanted to go to New York City. Since Buffalo was in New York, she moved there to

teach. She did not realize, however, that Buffalo was actually 200 miles away from New York

City. In Buffalo, Murray continued to work on her paintings. When she had her first child,

Murray shifted her thinking and spent a lot of time drawing. One of her first paintings, Madame

Cézanne in Rocking Chair, is almost like a cartoon, because it is in a comic-life storybook

format.56 [include picture of Madame Cézanne in Rocking Chair]

Among the Modern artists who greatly influenced Murray, she identified with Jackson Pollock’s

method of working on the floor to drip and drizzle the paint across the canvas to create his

masterpieces. With this in mind, she started to take her canvases and lay them on the floor. She

realized that she could join them together to create irregular shapes. Murray was also influenced

by items Oldenburg made for The Store. Using plaster and papier-mâché, Oldenburg small

sculptures of everyday objects one would find in a store, like tooth paste or soap. He painted in

an almost abstract way by allowing the paint to run down the sides and give the illusion of

everyday items, such as food, advertisements, and objects found in the urban street.57

55 Schwartzman, Allan. (1977). Elizabeth Murray: An Interview by Allan Schwartzman. In Early Work by Five

Contemporary Artists. New York, NY: The New Museum. 56 Schwartzman, Allan. 57 Simon, Joan. (January 20, 1977). An Interview with Elizabeth Murray. In Elizabeth Murray Recent Paintings,

May 1 – June 20, 1997. (p. 11). New York, NY: PaceWildenstein.


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Murray adapted this similar interest in everyday objects and returned to the inspiration of

Cezanne’s still life. She took all of these influences and created a cartoon-like still-life of objects

one sees around the house—a coffee cup, a spoon, a rocking chair, or a window. The irregularly

shaped canvases not only make the image appear to leap off the wall and come alive, but they

also interact like puzzle pieces in motion trying to fit together. Keyhole, from 1982, looks almost

like a character from Alice in Wonderland. An open negative space in the shape of a keyhole

with two dancing feet appears to be in constant motion, playing a game of chase with the

keyholder. [include picture of Keyhole]

In 1996, Murray began constructing a giant red shoe in her New York Studio for UC San Diego.

Murray was invited to add a piece of public art to the Stuart Collection. Murray visited the

campus in California. She immediately envisioned the nursery-rhyme style home of the little old

woman who lived in a shoe. Murray said of her only sculpture, “It was like taking one of the

paintings and filling it up with air, which feels to me something that they are already trying to do.

Like blowing themselves up somehow; there’s a lot of pressure from inside. So I just removed it

from the wall and set it in space.”58 The cartoonish shoe stands on its tip-toe with the chunky

heel parallel to the ground. A bright yellow shoelace dances around the open mouth of the shoe

and frames the boat-like interior, welcoming children to play. [include picture of Red Shoe]

Inspired by her personal collection of shoes, Murray talked about her connection to shoes.

“There is something about shoes that really is about your history; it’s the way you relate to them

in terms of time. They are very appealing things for people for me anyway—I save certain shoes

where I walked certain places.”59

In 2002, Murray worked with the Children’s Museum of Manhattan to create an exhibit in which

children can literally walk into her art and play with the different shapes and images. Unlike

museums where you cannot touch anything, the Children’s Museum of Manhattan is a special

58 Elizabeth Murray – Red Shoe. In The Stuart Collection: Site Specific Sculpture at the University of California, San Diego. San Diego, CA: University of California, San Diego. Retrieved February 13, 2003 from http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/murray/index.html. 59 Simon, Joan, p. 6.


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place where, even at a young age, children can play with the exhibits, making the art on display

almost like a toy. Murray said, “I wouldn’t disagree with the critic who said my paintings are

like toys. They’re like toys for the imagination.”60 Visitors to the exhibit are introduced to

Murray as the “Artist at Play.” Deborah Schwartz, the museum curator, compares her work to

other still life pieces, but goes on to point out that “(Murray) exhibits a creativity and energy that

is unique. Her style is playful and easily recognizable. She often notes the parallels between

painting and play.”61 Murray loved the idea of presenting art as play to the children. She said,

“The idea—demystifying art, making it more accessible—appealed to me. It’s great for kids to

get the feeling art is about play and you can play with it.”62 [include picture of children in the

Children's Museum of Manhattan exhibit]

Children visited Murray’s studio in the early planning stages and were the inspiration for most of

the ideas in Murray’s exhibit. “I had several works out but somehow they all gravitated to ‘Plan

Nine,’ a large oil I did last year showing table-tops, spoons, forks. It was not what I expected

them to choose.”63 One child remarked, “What I’d really like to do is jump into the picture.”64

The exhibit allows you to do just that. Children are able to play with several pieces of Murray’s

paintings on a computer, on the wall or even in a moving projector. Notebook sketches and

paintings also help illustrate her creative process. According to the exhibit text in museum,

Murray’s process for “(her) painting generally begins as doodles in a notebook. Once a drawing

is complete, Murray blows up the image with a projector and creates an enlarged version of it.

Individual canvases are then made from this sketch and bolted together. She then completes this

work by painting brilliant colors over the canvases.”65 This explanation helps to illustrate the

order and steps involved in the development of Murray’s artwork. [include picture of Plan Nine]

60 Art of the 80s: Murray. In Collections of the Castellani Art Museum. Retrieved February 13, 2003 from http://www.niagra.edu/cam/special/Art_of_80s/Artists/murray.html. 61 Schwartz, Deborah. (2002). Meet the Artists: Elizabeth Murray – Artist at Play. New York, NY: Children’s Museum of Manhattan. Retrieved February 13, 2003 at http://www.cmom.org/aio/aio%20bio.html. 62 Henry, Clare. 63 Henry, Clare. 64 Winship, Frederick M. (October 29, 2002). Artists Create Works for Children’s Museum. New York: United Press International. Retrieved February 13, 2003 at http://www.upi.com/. 65 Schwartz, Deborah.


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Murray’s extraordinary cartoon-like artwork beckons children of all ages to rethink the objects

that sit lifelessly around them.


Early works by five contemporary artists: Ron Gorchov, Elizabeth Murray, Dennis Oppenheim,

Dorothea Rockburne, Joel Shapiro., New Museum

This exhibit catalog contains a lengthy interview with Elizabeth Murray during the beginning of

her career.

Elizabeth Murray: recent paintings: February 12-March 13, 1999, PaceWildenstein.

Includes an interview with Murray and features full-color plates of the pieces in the show,

including Riverbank, Almost Made It, and Perfectly Morning.

Elizabeth Murray: recent paintings, May 1-June 20, 1997.

An extensive interview covering Murray’s influences and work process preludes a series of

intriguing paintings featured in the exhibit, including Formerly Fleet, Rain Painting, and Peeping

Tom.

Elizabeth Murray, paintings and drawings / organized by Sue Graze and Kathy Halbreich; with

essay by Roberta Smith and notes by Clifford S. Ackley. New York, NY: H.N. Abrams in

association with the Dallas Museum of Art and the MIT Committee on the Visual Arts, 1987.

An essential book to explore Murray’s meanings behind her individual works of art.

Elizabeth Murray: Drawings, 1980-1986 (exhibit catalog, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Carnegie-

Mellon U.A.G., 1986).

Elizabeth Murray: New Paintings by Jerry Saltz Locks Gallery; (April 1993)

Online Resources



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The most comprehensive online reference resource for all aspects of the visual arts worldwide

from prehistory to the present day.

An Archived Preview of Murray’s exhibit at PaceWildenstein, Beverly Hills in February 1997.

http://artscenecal.com/ArticlesFile/Archive/Articles1997/Articles0297/EMurray.html

Interview with Elizabeth Murray

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/M/murray.html

An interview with Elizabeth Murray conducted by Greg Masters

Art as Experiment, Art as Experience

http://www.sfmoma.org/anderson/index.html

Murray's This Pair, 1987, as part of a flash presentation on Art as Experiment, Art as

Experience, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art's first broadband online feature.

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/murray_elizabeth.html


National Museum of Women in the Arts 1250 New York Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20005-3970

202-783-5000, 1-800-222-7270

http://www.nmwa.org/

• Bright Dark Release Spencer Museum of Art 1301 Mississippi St., The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045-7500

phone 785-864-4710

fax 785-864-3112

http://www.ku.edu/~sma/

• Chaotic Lip

Stuart Collection Site Specific Sculpture at the University of California, San Diego

858.534.2117

http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/murray/


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• Red Shoe

New York City Transit Permanent Art

• Blooming: 1996-98 http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mta/aft/pa/tour/59st14.htm

59th Street-Lexington Avenue subway station

• Stream – 2001 http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mta/aft/pa/tour/23elymurryvv.htm Found in the transfer mezzanine's moving platform which connects the G Line's Long Island City Court Square station with the E and V Line at the 23rd and Ely station.”

North Carolina Museum of Art 2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, North Carolina 27607-6494 919.715-5923 http://www.ncmoa.org/

• Pigeon, 1991 Suggested Activities 1. Starting with a canvas, begin to sculpt an object using bright color clay, giving the image a

third dimensional effect.

2. Draw a large cartoon painting using a story-book panel format.

3. List three artists who inspire you and pull a different technique from each to create a new

project. For example, Murray used Cezanne’s still-life painting, Pollock’s method of working on

the floor, and Oldenburg’s plaster of Paris.

4. Make a collage of your favorite childhood images, including cartoon and storybook

characters. Do they inspire you to create any artwork?


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Joseph Cornell

[include pictures of Cornell as child and an adult]

You have been in the Art Institute of Chicago for a while now. Who knew there were so many

different kinds of art — and all in one giant building? You are starving and ready to eat lunch.

And what’s the chance that this stuff will start to make sense? A quick turn to the right and to the

left and Whoa! A room full of toys in little boxes. They are almost like pin ball machines without

the legs and the coin slots. Your grandpa would love to see this. He shared some of his similar

childhood toys with you, but these have funny pictures inside that don’t always make sense. You

want to pick them up and play with them; you see the spring bouncing inside from the people

walking around you. Do not touch! You’ll just have to make your own at home.

Joseph Cornell created vast universes that could fit in the palm of your hand. The romantic

notions and Victorian or old-fashioned toys and handheld games were tucked away inside their

home of wooden shadow boxes. This self-taught artist is known as one of American’s most

famous Surrealists. Looking at the tiny worlds he created, one would not guess that Cornell

never traveled far from home. His frequent weekend and evening excursions in New York City

provided Cornell with a wide variety of experiences to create his unending collection. Cornell

said, “My work was a natural outcome of my love for the city.”66 The fairylands, European

images, exotic bird collection, and sets of constellations take the viewer far beyond the

imagination of the small box crafted in his basement to worlds only dreamed of by Joseph

Cornell.

Born on Christmas Eve 1903, Cornell was the first of four children. His father was a textile

designer and would often take Cornell to his SoHo workshop, where he was exposed to a variety

of materials and mannequins. The family lived in a large Victorian house in Nyack, New York, a

small town 30 miles north of Manhattan. The family was very close to one another, and young

Cornell had a pleasant childhood. Cornell and his siblings had wonderful memories of their

childhood and Christmas. He would always ask his brother and sisters about their dreams trying 66 Joseph Cornell. In Bottlecaps to Brushes – Art Activities for Kids. Washington, DC: Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved February 12, 2003 from http://nmaa-ryder.si.edu/education/kids/cappy/13acornellbio.html.


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to always capture the great times that they shared.67 Cornell was also very close to his brother

Robert, who had cerebral palsy. Robert’s condition resulted in a lifetime of a pleasant outlook

and a happy childlike personality. Robert never grew up or lost his innocence and imagination,

which adults often do as they age. He would often use Robert’s drawings of rabbits in his

artwork. Cornell’s sister, Betty, spoke about the special bond that the family shared related to

rabbits. They even made up a bunny society in their family. They would call people a bunny, the

highest praise that they could give to someone.68 [include a picture of Robert’s bunny drawings]

As a boy, Cornell loved to read fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen, the Grimm brothers, and

Red, Green and Blue Fairy Books. Two of his favorites, The Book of Knowledge and St.

Nicholas: Scribner’s Illustrated Magazine for Girls and Boys, introduced him to topics in

multiple disciplines, how subjects interrelate with one another, including science, math, history,

literature and the arts. They both also featured projects for the children to do at home, including

how to create dioramas in shadowboxes, obviously an activity that stuck with Cornell.69

After his father’s death in 1917, Cornell was sent away to Philips Academy in Andover,

Massachusetts. His mother considered him to be the man of the house and felt that he needed to

prepare for his duties. After leaving Philips Academy, Cornell returned to his new family home

in Flushing Meadows, Queens, a borough of New York City. The new home was located on

Utopia Parkway, which seems appropriate for a man famous for the small utopias he created.

His mother had already picked up some extra income by making sandwiches, baking cakes and

knitting sweaters for Abercrombie and Fitch. Like his father, Cornell also went to work in the

textile industry in the city as a woolen-goods salesman and textile designer.70 On the side,

Cornell would freelance for large magazines in the city. He created collages and designs for

magazines, such as Vogue and View.71

67 Blair, p. 82. 68 Blair, pp. 87-88. 69 McShine, Kynaston (Ed.). (1980). Joseph Cornell, November 17, 1980 – January 20, 1981. (p.93). New York, NY: Museum of Modern Art. 70 Waldman, Diane. (2002). Master of Dreams. (p. 16). New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 71 Blair, p. 16.


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Cornell collected small objects he used in his artwork while visiting five and dime stores in the

city after work. He collected small figurines or images, like post cards, that he was drawn to and

reminded him of his interests. Cornell would frequent many areas in the city, including Grand

Central Station on 42nd Street, where he arrived on the Subway, and the New York Public

Library, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At the library he would make photocopies of clip

art images that are found throughout his collages.72

During this time he developed his love for operas and ballets. He was fascinated with anything

related to the dramatic arts. He would stand in line for standing room only tickets to the opera.

He also went to all of the new movies featured in the cinemas. He began collecting images from

all of the events he was going to see in the evenings. These included the playbills and movie

posters of the young starlets who were featured in the ballet, opera or movie.

All of the materials that he collected and inspiring evenings he spent at different showings lead

to a series of boxes devoted to the female stars of these shows, who had captured his heart and

imagination. Cornell likewise created numerous boxes based on the ballet. The Pantry Ballet

features tiny red plastic lobsters dressed in a fishnet tutu and a black beaded necklace, ready to

dance from any vibration in the room. Hanging along beside silver spoons and forks, the lobsters

are reminiscent of the oysters in “The Walrus and the Carpenter” from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in

Wonderland. Black and white clipart of seashells frame the interior of the bright red box. Zizi

Jeanmarie Lobster Ballet Box, another piece from the series, features a photograph of a ballerina

dancing with the same dressed lobsters lined up for their next performance.73 [include picture of

The Pantry Ballet and Zizi Jeanmarie Lobster Ballet Box]

In 1931 the Julian Levy Gallery opened in New York City. It was the first gallery to exhibit

Surrealist artists, the cutting edge art movement of the time, in the United States. Cornell

frequented this gallery and was impressed by Max Ernst’s work La Femme 1oo tétes, a Surreal

collage. [include picture of La Femme 1oo tétes] Cornell returned to the gallery to show Levy

some of his collages and tiny boxes that he had been working on. Levy was planning a show

72 Waldman, p. 17. 73 Schaffner, Ingrid. (2003). The Essential Joseph Cornell. (p. 68). New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.


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called “Surrealisme” and he included several of Cornell’s pieces in the collection. Cornell also

created a collage that was used as the cover for the exhibit catalog.74 [include picture of collage

for exhibit catalog]

At Cornell’s first solo exhibit, he featured a series of small miniatures that were toys. Game of

Jacks is a small box with a glass lid displaying four jacks and a marble that can be played with

like a toy. Tiny miniatures, including a star, frame the felt-lined play area. [include picture of

Game of Jacks] Moveable objects like shifting sand, spinning thimbles, or rolling balls interact

with objects in the box. A bell might ring or a ball might trigger a spring to flip a picture. These

fantastic artworks are similar to the small games you might buy at the drug store or keep in your

pocket. The figure in Untitled (Harlequin) is very similar to “Rubber Ball Shooting Gallery,” a

popular Victorian children’s game. [include picture of Untitled (Harlequin)]

Through the exhibitions, Cornell became friends with several of the artists. He would often play

chess with Marcel Duchamp when Duchamp was staying in New York. Duchamp hired Cornell

to help him create reproductions of Boîte-en-valise, Duchamp’s box of miniature art museum.

Cornell also began his own personal collection known as the Duchamp Dossier (c. 1942-53).

Cornell’s dossiers were boxes that he assembled based on one topic, an individual or a place. The

boxes lined the basement of his home on Utopia Parkway. Pictures of Cornell at work display the

names of his favorite subjects on the shelves behind him. [include picture of Cornell at work in

the basement in front of the dossiers] The Duchamp Dossier was not discovered until after

Cornell’s death.75 These boxes made up Cornell’s filing system for images and text that he would

use in his creations. Among the numerous boxes, topics included ballet, astronomy, birds, the

circus, mathematics, maps, fashion, paperweights, the grasshopper, rabbits, Mozart, Joan Collins,

Picasso, Hans Christian Andersen, sheet music, The New York Times clippings, sunsets, and

correspondence with others.76 In reference to his collection, Cornell once said that everything

had its place, it had just not been realized yet.

74 Schaffner, pp. 40-46. 75 Joseph Cornell/Marcel Duchamp ... In Resonance – The Duchamp Dossier. In Other Voices: The (e)Journal of Cultural Criticism. n. 1., v. 2. (September 1998). Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved February 6, 2003 from http://www.othervoices.org/1.2/cornell/cornellduchamp.html. 76 Blair, p. 25.


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Inspired by C.V. Boys’ Soap Bubbles, Their Colours and the Forces Which Mold Them, Cornell

created an entire collection of art around similar ideas expanding on his childhood interests.77

His “Soap Bubble Sets” were the first of many series focused on one topic area. [include pictures

of “Soap Bubble Sets”] As stated in a catalog for a 1948 exhibit of his “Soap Bubble Sets,”

Cornell said,

Shadow boxes become poetic theatres or settings wherein are metamorphosed the elements of childhood pastime. The fragile, shimmering globules become the shimmering but more enduring planets-a connotation of moon and tides-the association of water less subtle, as when driftwood pieces make up a proscenium to set off the dazzling white of seafoam and billowy cloud crystallized in a pipe of fancy.78

Other series include the Aviary series, featuring bright, colorful parrots; the Medici series,

featuring images of young children of the Renaissance era; Hotel series, with images reminiscent

of exotic European travels; and Night Skies, illuminating the beauty found in stargazing beyond

the city lights. The night skies series was inspired by his frequent visits to the Hayden

Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. He also subscribed

to the Planetarium’s magazine, The Sky Reporter, which was the source for many of the images

that he used in his collages.79 [include picture from Night Sky Series]

Making art based on his favorite childhood topics, Cornell always loved children and felt that

they best understood his work. He would invite them over for afternoon tea and they would often

correspond with one another via letters. The children would address their letters as “Dear Mr.

Werewolf.” He created his first of two exhibits especially for children in 1950. It was held at the

New York Public Library in the Children’s Room. The theme of the exhibit was the fairytales of

Hans Christian Andersen.80

After the death of Robert and his mother, Cornell led a solitary life. He stopped creating as many

of his boxes and focused more on collage. He would often leave his treasured boxes on his front

porch for neighborhood children to pick up and play with. He would watch them from his 77 Blair, p. 178. 78 An Exhibition of Works by Joseph Cornell, December 27, 1966 – February 11, 1967. (p. 34) Pasadena, CA: Pasadena Art Museum. 79 Blair, p. 176. 80 Blair, p. 104.


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window. With that in mind, the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture held an art exhibit

of Cornell’s work entitled “Children Only,” during the winter of 1972. The art was exhibited on

low podiums at the perfect height for the children. Refreshments of brownies and Cherry Cokes,

Cornell’s favorites, were served to the visitors. He answered the children’s questions and told

them stories of where he found many of the tiny objects. This was the last exhibit that Cornell

attended before his death.81 [include series of pictures from the “Children Only” Exhibit]

Cornell died on December 29, 1972, at the end of the Christmas season, Cornell’s favorite time

of year. A Christmas Eve baby, he loved the magic of the season with all of the beautifully

inspiring, decorated shop windows throughout the season. It was the perfect time for Cornell to

pass onto his celestial worlds he created. Cornell was cremated and buried in a small wooden

box.


Waldman, Diane. Master of Dreams (2002). New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

A large picture book presents a close-up view to the history of Cornell’s work along with

essays by expert Diane Waldman.

Schaffner, Ingrid. The Essential Joseph Cornell. (2003) New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

This pocket guide to Cornell includes several wonderful pictures and a thorough history

of his work and how it relates to other 20th century artists.

Blair, Lindsay. Joseph Cornell’s Vision of Spiritual Order. (1999) Reakiton Books Ltd. London.

This book presents a thorough examination of Cornell’s boxes and dossiers.

Ashton, Dove. A Joseph Cornell Album. (1974) New York: Da Capo Press.

81 Hare, Denise. Photo Essay. In Ashton, Dore. (1974). A Joseph Cornell Album.(pp. 224-233). New York, NY: Da Capo Press.


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Along with essays about Cornell, this book includes poems inspired by his art work,

writings by Cornell, and Cornell’s recommended readings. A wonderful photo essay documents

the “Children’s Only” Exhibit at the Cooper Union Gallery in 1972.

Joseph Cornell. The Museum of Modern Art. New York (1980).

This 1980 retrospective exhibit catalog includes several essays about Cornell before

presenting extensive color plates and images from the exhibit.

Online Resources



Search for Joseph Cornell on the most comprehensive online reference resource for all aspects of

the visual arts worldwide from prehistory to the present day.

MESSAGE IN A BOX

December 30, 1997, NewsHour Transcript

An interview with Deborah Solomon, the author of Utopia Parkway: The Life and Work of

Joseph Cornell.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/july-dec97/artbox_12-30.html

Kids Corner, the Smithsonian American Art Museum's interactive art room for children.

Bottlecaps to Brushes - Art Activities for Kids

http://www.nmaa-ryder.si.edu/education/kids/cappy/main.html

http://www.EnchantedLearning.com/artists/cornell/

Art Minimal & Conceptual Only

http://members.aol.com/mindwebart2/Cornellcover.htm

Albright Knox Art Gallery


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Soap Bubble Set (Ostend Hotel)

www.albrightknox.org/ArtStart/Cornell.html

WebMuseum: Joseph Cornell

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/cornell/


Habitat Group for a Shooting Gallery, 1943

Des Moines Art Center, Iowa http://www.desmoinesartcenter.org/

A Pantry Ballet (For Jacques Offenbach), 1942

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri

Black Hunter, circa 1939

The Art Institute of Chicago

Glass Bell, circa 1932


Harlequin, 1935-38


Sand Fountain, circa 1957-59

Hirshorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC


701 Dorsoduro, 30123 Venice, Italy


• Fortune Telling Parrot (Parrot Music Box), circa 1937-38

• Swiss Shoot-the-Chutes, 1941


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• Setting for a Fairy Tale, 1942

• Soap Bubble Set, 1941

• Untitled (Pharmacy), circa 1942

North Carolina Museum of Art Suzy’s Sun (For Judy Tyler) www.ncmoa.org/collections/hightlights/20thcentury/20th/1950-2000/030_lrg.shtml Suggested Activities

1. Choose a favorite parable or story and create a box based on it. Use Victorian style black and

white clipart.

2. Write a poem based on your favorite Cornell piece.

3. Create a game with a small moving part in it.

4. Decorate the interior of a glass-front box using totally modern images, instead of Victorian.

5. Illustrate a recent dream that you had by creating a collage.


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Portfolios

Each of the artists you read about demonstrates how their childhood interests helped to shape

their artwork and who they became as an adult. Regardless of your age, it is important to begin to

collect information about yourself and put together ideas about what makes up who you are.

Your personal information will help you develop future projects that reflect what you have to

express to others. This information can be organized in many different ways and serve different

purposes, but they are all important and are a foundation of who you are.

Your portfolio is an important tool to share examples of actual work that you have created. Your

portfolio can include writing samples of your poetry, songs, fiction, non-fiction, school papers,

journalism clips — anything that shows your skills, originality and thought process. Portfolios

are also great to share images of visual art. Include pictures of your best art work, such as a

painting, piece of pottery, or a flyer you created.

You may have several different versions of your portfolios depending on different types of art

you have created or subjects you are interested in. Begin with a complete and thorough version

for your files to ensure that you do not forget anything important.

Collections/Dossiers

Create your own resource center by becoming more organized. Often people who accomplish a

lot are able to because they know where to find what they are looking for. They can think of an

idea, put their hands on what they need and begin working immediately without getting

distracted while searching through piles of unorganized pieces of paper. Use this worksheet to

record the categories of your Joseph Cornell inspired dossiers. There can be a wide variety of

topics that you are interested in. A wall full of labeled boxes will keep all of your interests at

your fingertips.


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Top Ten Favorites

Jot down a few of your favorites using these top ten lists as starting points for ideas for creating

art. A few blank categories are included if you think of a group of ideas that are really important

to you.

Games you played when you were younger

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Games and activities you do now

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Artists, artwork and museums

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Favorite subjects and interests

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.


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Books, songs, movies and tv shows

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Places you have visited

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Places you want to visit

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

What you want to be when you grow up

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.


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____________ You pick the category

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

____________ You pick the category

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Other Idea Sources

Write a story about one of your favorite childhood memories that is important to the work that

you are interested in. Think of Tinguely’s description of time he spent in the forest as a child.

Write a description of the most amazing place you have ever visited. What did it make you think

of? Did it inspire you to create art work? Have you been back to the place? Do you have any

pictures from that trip?

Write about the most outrageous thing you have ever done. What was it like? Will you do it

again?

Write a letter to yourself in ten years, thirty years, and fifty years. What would you say? What

are you doing? What types of fun things do you like to do? Are they similar to the same things

you liked to do when you were little?


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Tools

Have you ever considered how much a tool can influence your thinking? Think about it—once

you realize that you have a particular tool and then master its use, you can think about things in a

different way. Before fire was discovered, people were limited in their thinking about where to

live, what to eat or when they could do things. With fire, they began to live in colder climates,

explore at night, and cook meat. What do you have in your house that opens doors for you?

When you get a new computer, all of a sudden you are able to do things you had never thought

about doing before… making cards for friends, for example. With tools, you can put different

materials together and create new things. This section is a space to record a list of your tools and

to create a wish list. I often forget that I have something that is stored away in a closet or the

basement. This handy list will allow you quick way to expand your thinking and find the solution

to your next creative problem. Maybe you have not thought of sewing something or using a drill

to complete your next art project. This list will help lead you to the completion of your next

masterpiece!

Tool __________________________________

Date purchased _______ Amount ________ Store ________ Warranty _______

Where I store this tool ____________________________________________

Things I can use this tool for ________________________________________


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Contacts

Just as tools allow you to expand your thinking, so do contacts. These are people who can help

you solve issues that you do not know how to address. Some contacts may be helpful when you

are brainstorming ideas. These people can help you think about things from a different

perspective and help your idea to grow or better convey a message. There are other contacts who

may know how to do specific things that you can’t do. These people are like plumbers or

mechanics. You may know what to do, but you can’t do it yourself, so their expertise is

necessary for your project. These people can help you in one of two ways. They might be able to

teach you their skills if that is something you are interested in learning and developing, like glass

blowing or jewelry making. You might utilize their skill for one project, but you probably won’t

ever need to know how to perform the skill because the equipment is too expensive for you to

become proficient or you are not interested in actually completing the task. One example could

be welding. But don’t limit yourself. You should always do something you have the urge to do

under the supervision of a professional or someone who has experience with the equipment.

There are typically a multitude of great experts and classes on how to acquire technical skills at

local community colleges.

Oldenburg and van Bruggen are perfect examples of using others to complete large-scale

projects. They create the plans and find people who can do each task. Their projects are

expensive, but as you develop your skills, interests, and ideas, these contacts will be a valuable

resource for you.

Name __________________________________________

Address _________________________________________

Phone numbers ____________________________________

Email ___________________________________________

Birthday _________________________________________

These people are good at ______________________________

They can help me ___________________________________

They have ________________________________________


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Activity Worksheet

The activity worksheet will help you to compile a lot of different information into one place.

Begin with a preliminary name and the inspiration for this new project. This may be a great place

to capture projects that you want to create but aren’t able to actually begin at this time. The start

and finish date help you to track how long it takes to complete your project from when you first

think of it. Include the names of contacts that may be able to help you specifically with this

project. Their contact information can be found in the contact section. Make sure that it is up to

date when you ask them about the project. List any tools that you will need. Be sure to reference

your tool section to make sure you do not buy something that you already have. Also check with

your contacts to see if they already have some of these tools that they would be willing to let you

borrow. By marking own/rent/buy/borrow, you can easily determine the best way to gather

everything together for your project. The same is true for your supply list. A to-do list helps to

mark the progress of your project. Further thoughts help to document any ideas, changes of

plans, or revelations that may occur as your project evolves. Although you may not find it

necessary to keep a budget, keeping track of the total cost of materials and your hours helps you

to place a value on the finished pieces. Document where someone could (or could not) find your

piece once you have completed the project and where to find it — if you gave it to a friend, sold

it at an exhibit, or it was destroyed as part of a happening. Don’t forget to include pictures of

your project throughout the process.

Name of project _____________________________________

Inspired by ________________________________________

Start Date ______ Number of hours ________ Finish date _____

Contacts __________________________________________

Budget/Total Cost ____________________________________

Tools Needed (Own/Rent/Buy/Borrow)

Supplies Needed (Own/Rent/Buy/Borrow)

To Do List

Further Thoughts

Final Resting Place


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Visiting Art

When you are planning a visit to a new city on a vacation, it is helpful to do a little preliminary

research. Begin by searching out all of the possible places that you would like to visit. Often it is

impossible to see everything, so be sure to visit the art work you are most interested in and

potentially will be the most inspiring. Look through guide books and search the internet for

museums, galleries and public art. These are great resources for making plans, but please don’t

decide skip a location because you are disappointed by a Web site. Images on the internet are no

substitute for original art.

Make notes on current exhibits or upcoming exhibits that will be on display during your visit.

Make notes of what is on display, where and the hours that they are open. Prioritize exhibits that

you are excited about. Allow exhibits you are less excited about to surprise you. Don’t feel like

you have to see everything inside once you are at the museum. It is easy to exhaust yourself that

way. The main goal is to find something new and inspiring or to visit an old favorite, which is

almost like a friend.

Use the same sheet to record thoughts, ideas and recommendations. “Look this up” is a place to

return to after your visit where you listed thing you want to learn more about.

Destination city

Name of place

Address

Hours

Number

URL

Directions

Exhibits I want to see

Must see pieces

Look this up!

My favorites

Thoughts


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Resource Center

Use this as a place to list all of your favorite resources in one spot. Resources are inspiring places

that continue to provide you with more information. Each page is for a different type of resource

Museum/Gallery

• Address

• Hours

• Number

• URL

• Directions

Books

• Author

• Description

• To Read/Have Read

• Buy/Own/Borrow

URLS

Periodicals – Magazines, Newspapers, Journals

Continuing Ed Classes

• Art centers, community colleges, museums, summer camps, libraries, retail stores,

conferences, universities, resource centers, home extension offices, government agencies


Page 60 of 67

Glossary

arduous – laborious, difficult, strenuous*

Hard to do; requiring much effort; difficult; using up much energy; strenuous**

dilapidated – in a state of disrepair as by misuse or neglect*

falling to pieces; partly ruined or decayed through neglect**

dossier – a group of documents on the same subject, esp. a complete group containing detailed

information*

fex – latin suffix meaning “maker”*

happening – a dramatic or similar performance consisting chiefly or a series of discontinuous

events any special event or gathering in which the audience is to perform a

spontaneous creative part*

intuitive – perceiving by a quick and keen insight*

perceiving or understanding immediately and without reasoning; acquired by intuition;

instinctive; natural**

kinetic – characterized by movement*

of motion; caused by motion**

malic – pertaining to or derived from apples*

manifesto – a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives, as one issued by

a government, sovereign, or organization*

a public declaration of intentions, purposes, or motives by an important person or group;

proclamation**

medium – the material or technique with which an artists works*, **

monochromatic – of or having one color*


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of a single color or shades of a single color**

museum – a building or place where works of art or other objects of permanent value are kept

and displayed*

a building or rooms where a collection of objects illustrating science, ancient life, art,

history, or other subjects is kept and displayed**

plastic – concerned with or pertaining to or modeling; sculptural

relating to three-dimensional form or space, esp. on a two-dimensional surface

pertaining to the tools or techniques of drawing, pertaining, or sculpture

characterized by an emphasis on painting, or sculpture*

adj. molding or giving shape to material: sculpture is a plastic art.**

adj. easily molded or shaped: clay, wax, and plaster are plastic substances**

resonances – reverberation*

resounding quality; act of reinforcing and prolonging sound by reflection or by vibration

of other objects**

sieves – an instrument with a meshed or perforated bottom, used for separating coarse from fine

parts of loose matter, for straining liquids, etc.*

utensils having holes that let liquids and smaller pieces pass through, but not the larger

pieces**

still life – a representation of inanimate objects as of a bowl of fruit*

a picture of inanimate objects, such as fruit, flowers, pottery, and the like, artistically

arranged to be the subject of a picture**

utopia – a place or state of political or social perfection*

an ideal place or condition; a perfect place or way to love**


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valise – a small piece of luggage that can be carried by hand*

a small suitcase to hold clothes, etc.**

Victorian – of or pertaining to Queen Victoria or the period of her reign*

of or about the time of Queen Victoria**

*Definitions from The Random House College Dictionary, 1975

** Definitions from Thorndike-Barnhart Junior Dictionary, 1997


Page 63 of 67

Bibliography

American Masters: Alexander Calder. New York, NY: Educational Broadcasting Corporation.

Retrieved February 22, 2002 at

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/calder_a.html.

An Exhibition of Works by Joseph Cornell, December 27, 1966 – February 11, 1967. Pasadena,

CA: Pasadena Art Museum.

Arman, Yves. (1984). Marcel Duchamp Plays and Wins. New York, NY: Gallery Yves Arman.

Art of the 80s: Murray. In Collections of the Castellani Art Museum. Retrieved February 13,

2003 from http://www.niagra.edu/cam/special/Art_of_80s/Artists/murray.html.

Biography. Retrieved March 29, 2003 at http://www.nikidesaintphalle.com/biography.html.

Blackwell, Joan. (June 5, 1968). BBC Interview with Marcel Duchamp. The Late Show Line Up.

London: BBC Television. In Naumann, Francis M. (1999). Marcel Duchamp: The Art of

Making Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams,

Inc.

Blair, Lindsay. (1998). Joseph Cornell’s Vision of Spiritual Order. London: Reaktion Books.

Calder, Alexander. (1952). Voici une petite histoire de mon cirque (Here is a Little History of

My Circus). In Permanence du Cirque. Revue Neuf, Paris. Retrieved February 22, 2002

at http://www.calder.org/.

Calder, Alexander and Davidson, Jean. (1966). An Autobiography with Pictures. New York, NY:

Pantheon Books.

Celant, Germano (Ed.). (1995). Claes Oldenburg: An Anthology. New York, NY: Guggenheim

Museum Publications.


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Celant, Germano. (1995). Claes Oldenburg and the Feeling of Things. In Claes Oldenburg: An

Anthology. New York, NY: Guggenheim Museum Publications.

Claes Oldenburg: An Anthology. (October 7, 1995 - January 21, 1996). [online exhibition] New

York, NY: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Retrieved January 22, 2003 at

http://www.artnetweb.com/oldenburg/candc.html.

Claes Oldenburg: An Anthology. (October 7, 1995 - January 21, 1996). [online exhibition] New

York, NY: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Retrieved January 22, 2003 at

http://www.artnetweb.com/oldenburg/index.html.

De Saint Phalle, Niki. (1999). Traces: An Autobiography Remembering 1930-1949. Fribourg,

Switzerland: Acatos Publisher.

Early Mobiles. In Alexander Calder: The Breakthrough Years, 1925-1934. San Francisco, CA:

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved February 22, 2002 at

http://www.sfmoma.org/escape/calder/calder_earlymobiles.html.

Elizabeth Murray – Red Shoe. In The Stuart Collection: Site Specific Sculpture at the University

of California, San Diego. San Diego, CA: University of California, San Diego. Retrieved

February 13, 2003 from http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/murray/index.html.

Evans, Myfanwy and Howe, Gerold (Eds.). (1937). Mobiles. In The Painter’s Object. London.

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Extract from the National-Zeitung, Basle, (October 13, 1967). In Hultén, K.G.Pontus (1975).

Jean Tinguley “Méta.” Boston: New York Graphic Society.

Fineberg, Jonathan. (1997). The Innocent Eye: Children’s Art and the Modern Artist. Princeton,

NJ: Princeton University Press.


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Guerrero, Pedro E. (1998). Calder at Home: The Joyous Environment of Alexander Calder. New

York, NY: Stewart, Tabori & Chang.

Hare, Denise. Photo Essay. In Ashton, Dore. (1974). A Joseph Cornell Album. New York, NY:

Da Capo Press.

Henry, Clare. (November 6, 2002). Visual Arts New York: Art Gets Canine for Kids. London:

Financial Times Limted. USA Edition 1.

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(e)Journal of Cultural Criticism. n. 1., v. 2. (September 1998). Philadelphia, PA:

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York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

McShine, Kynaston (Ed.). (1980). Joseph Cornell, November 17, 1980 – January 20, 1981. New

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Oldenburg, Claes and Coosje van Bruggen. (1994). Large Scale Projects. New York : Monacelli

Press.


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Schaffner, Ingrid. (2003). The Essential Joseph Cornell. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Schwartz, Deborah. (2002). Meet the Artists: Elizabeth Murray – Artist at Play. New York, NY:

Children’s Museum of Manhattan. Retrieved February 13, 2003 at

http://www.cmom.org/aio/aio%20bio.html.

Stiles, Kristine and Seiz, Peter. (Eds.) (1996). Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art.

Berkley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.

Sweeney, James Johnson. (1951). Alexander Calder. 29 September-28 November 1943. New

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Violand-Hobi, Heidi E. (1995). Jean Tinguely: Life and Work. Munich and New York: Prestel.

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Art and Play

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Transcript of Art and Play