“I am for an art,” Claes Oldenburg wrote in 1961 “that does something other than sit on its ass in a museum.” The artist went on to make his name in Pop Art by creating huge public sculptures depicting everyday objects. Typewriter Erase, Scale X, constructed in the National Gallery Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C. in 1999, is one of a series of over sized erasers that were constructed in various cities. Common objects such as clothes pins, spoons, bowling balls and pins, and a huge ice cream cone dripping down from the top of a tall building, brought a sense of playfulness and whimsy to an art world that is far to serious for Oldenburg’s taste.
Dealing with common objects, though does present the problem of relevance as the years go by. Do young people even recognize this item? Is it still produced? A quick search of Amazon produced one listing for this “ vintage eraser”- at a price of $7.99 and a limit of one to a customer!
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