Image Overview > 15 of 20

Born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1929, Claes Oldenburg came to New York in 1936. Oldenburg’s work, whether it’s small or large, includes a wide range of sculpture, prints, and drawings.

Ordinary to Extraordinary
Originally interested in the human figure, Oldenburg shifted his focus to objects in the late 1950s and the early 1960s. Floor Cone is an example of his choice to use common objects familiar to many people. Some other works of his include ceramic food sculptures (including bread and hamburgers) and oversized, soft plastic fan and toilet sculptures.

• What do you think about the fact that Oldenburg represents  such common objects in his artwork?

• What does Floor Cone look like to you? Why?

From Canvas to Candy
Like Oldenburg’s other soft sculptures, Floor Cone was carefully planned out before it was sewn. The sculpture is made out of painted canvas filled with cardboard boxes and foam rubber, and it can be positioned in a number of different ways. Describing Floor Cone and his other soft sculptures, Oldenburg said they speak of  "the large formal realm of softness, which one’s own body suggests."

• What do you think about Oldenburg’s comparison between his work and the human body?

• What might this sculpture feel like?

• Do you think Oldenburg’s decision to make this cone soft is important? Why or why not?

Size It Up
Oldenburg has been interested in making oversized objects since he was first confronted with creating works for large exhibition spaces in 1962. Filled with foam rubber and cardboard boxes, Floor Cone is a soft sculpture that can be placed on the floor, propped against a wall, or arranged in a number of different ways. The only constant rule Floor Cone must obey is gravity, which Oldenburg called his "favorite form creator."

• Think about the dimensions (given in the caption) for this work, do you think its size matters?

• What might Oldenburg mean by saying gravity creates form?

• Do you think the filling of his sculptures matters? How might his work look and act if it were filled with helium or sand, or concrete?