Claes Oldenburg's Theater of Vision: Poetry, Sculpture, Film, and Performance Art

This study explores the conceptual dependence and deep connectivity between Claes Oldenburg's poetry, sculpture, films, and performance art between 1956 and 1965, using machine vision and other metaphors to visualize the structure and image content of human thought. It combines understudied visual and concrete poetry, experimental films, fifteen group performances, and close analysis of his well-known installations of The Street (1960) and The Store (1961–62), reexamining his pop art from the street, store, home, and cinema years.

Format: Unspecified
Length: 244 pages
Publication date: 10 November 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive study explores the intricate relationship and profound interconnectedness between Claes Oldenburg's poetry, sculpture, films, and performance art from 1956 to 1965, spanning four chronologically organized chapters. Through a rigorous research approach, the book makes a compelling argument that Oldenburg's artistic practice heavily relies on machine vision and other metaphorical frameworks to depict the structure and visual content of human thought as a creative challenge. Anchored in extensive archival material and new oral history interviews, the book brings together previously understudied visual and concrete poetry, experimental films, fifteen group performances commonly known as happenings, and a detailed analysis of his renowned installations such as The Street (1960) and The Store (1961–62). By comprehensively examining these diverse artistic mediums, the book offers a fresh perspective on Oldenburg's pop art from the street, store, home, and cinema years, challenging prevailing notions and prompting a reevaluation of his artistic contributions. This work will appeal to scholars and researchers engaged in art history, film studies, performance studies, literature, intermedia studies, and media theory, as it sheds light on the complex and multifaceted nature of Oldenburg's artistic oeuvre.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032449883