Palm Springs Art MuseumFound Objects

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.

Este dibujo que representa una gran rueda roja forma parte de la serie de propuestas extravagantes y sobredimensionadas de Oldenburg para lugares emblemáticos. El borrador redondo de máquina de escribir con tapa de cepillo reemplaza los edificios de la prisión de la isla, convirtiendo un símbolo de castigo y contención en un instrumento irónico de corrección. Las instalaciones de Oldenburg suelen presentar grandes reproducciones de objetos cotidianos, y con frecuencia ha recurrido a objetos comunes como tema, transformándolos por medio de contextos, materiales o cambios de escala inesperados.

Claes Oldenburg, American, 1929 ‑ 2022 Proposal for Colossal Monument in the Form of a Typewriter Eraser for Alcatraz Island, 1975 lithograph, VII/XXV from the edition of 50 Gift of the Estate of Gladys M. Rubinstein 2014.147