Claes Oldenburg Giant Rubber Stamp

Painted with polyurethane enamel 28 ft.

Claes oldenburg giant rubber stamp.

The big rubber stamp with the word free on it is a creation of artist claes oldenburg who sculpts giant versions of everyday objects that turn up in public parks and on city sidewalks. Inarguably the world s largest office stamp the aluminum and steel structure is 49 feet long 28 feet high and weighs 70 000 pounds. And the free stamp in cleveland s willard park is no exception. It was intended to be displayed in amoco s lobby but ended up in storage in indiana for seven years.

Free stamp willard park cleveland ohio steel and aluminum. The dimensions of the sculpture are 28 ft 10 in 8 79 m by 26 ft 7 9 m by 49 ft 15 m. Created by claes oldenburg and his wife coosje van bruggen it has been called the world s largest rubber stamp. Claes oldenburg 1929 and coosje van bruggen 1942 2009 were all about big.

It was commissioned by the amoco oil company in 1985. Oldenburg said the idea of a giant rubber stamp was inspired by the form of the 1894 soldiers and sailors monument which features a slender triumphal column rising out of a blocky romanesque. In the cleveland area it s one of three titanic installations created by oldenburg and van bruggen. For those of you not familiar with free stamp it is a large sculpture designed by claes oldenburg and coosje van bruggen of a giant rubber stamp with the word free backwards on it.

The giant clothespin was created in 1976. Oldenburg and van bruggen are well known for their sculptures of common items done to giant proportions. The sculpture depicts a rubber stamp with the word free in its stamping area. Discover world s largest rubber stamp in cleveland ohio.

8 8 x 7 9 x 14 9 m commissioned december 1982 by sohio later bp america inc gift of bp america inc. To the city of cleveland installed august october 1991 inaugurated november 15 1991 statement by the artists. In 1991 it was donated to cleveland. Available for sale from woodward gallery claes oldenburg boom stamped indelibly 1967 rubber stamp ink print on paper 9 1 2 6 1 2 in.

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