Claes Oldenburg, Proposal for Colossal Monument in the Form of a Typewriter Eraser for Alcatraz Island

1975

This drawing representing a big red wheel is part of Oldenburg's series of fanciful, oversized proposals for landmarks. The round, brush-topped typewriter eraser replaces the island's prison buildings, turning a symbol of punishment and containment into an ironic instrument of correction. Oldenburg’s installations typically feature large replicas of everyday objects, and he has frequently turned to commonplace objects as his subject matter, transforming them through unexpected contexts, materials, or scale shifts.