Last Monday, we talked about the history of Claes Oldenburg’s iconic Floor Cake sculpture, which is currently in MoMA’s Conservation Department for study and treatment. In this post we’ll discuss how the sculpture was made and how Floor Cake’s condition has resulted from natural aging combined with a heavy exhibition schedule.

The filling inside Floor Cake consists of polyurethane foam and cardboard boxes.

For his seminal 1962 triptych Floor Cake, Floor Burger, and Floor Cone, Oldenburg enlisted the help of his first wife, Patti Mucha, who used a portable Singer sewing machine and heavyweight canvas to sew the covers of these large objects. Oldenburg then coated the objects’ surfaces with paint. These works might be described as sewn object-paintings. Floor Cake, for example, consists of five layers of sewn-and-painted canvas, with two chocolate-colored layers alternating with three thinner beige layers, topped by yellow-ocher drops of decorative “icing.”

Diagram of cake layers. Drawing: Laura Davies

Recently, Floor Cake was on view at MoMA alongside Floor Cone, Pastry Case, I, and “Empire” (“Papa”) Ray Gun. When the installation ended and the Oldenburg works returned to storage, conservators took the opportunity to bring Floor Cake into the conservation lab for treatment.

Overall, the sculpture is in remarkable shape for a forty-seven-year-old soft painted sculpture that has traveled to Japan, Germany, and across the United States. But it has fifteen square feet of painted cotton canvas—three square feet of which are intended to rest directly on the floor—and visitors are meant to experience the object up close, without stanchions or a platform. As a consequence of the artist’s intent, Floor Cake has experienced typical wear and tear resulting in the condition issues listed and pictured below.

• Structurally the three-dimensional shaped canvas is sound. There is minor canvas wear and a few small punctures in areas that come in contact with the floor.
• The cake “filling” is comprised of two components: polyurethane foam and cardboard boxes. The foam is discolored but remains soft and flexible. The cardboard boxes, which are actually ice cream containers, are stable.
• The thinner or single applications of paint are in good condition. The thicker or multiple layered areas of paint are cracked throughout. There are paint losses which are most notable in areas where handling and manipulation occurs. The paint surface exhibits an overall layer of dirt and grime that is to be expected with an unvarnished painted surface. (We will soon perform an analysis to determine what kind of paint(s) Oldenburg used on Floor Cake.)
• The “chocolate drop” exhibits a chalky white efflorescence. This has also been observed with similar paint that Oldenburg used with his earlier painted plaster objects, such as Two Cheeseburgers, with Everything (Dual Hamburgers).

Next week, we’ll talk about our treatment proposal for surface cleaning, along with our goals and expectations for the treatment.