Thursday, May 17, 2007

Whimsical

Typewriter Eraser, Scale X, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, 1999,
National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden.


Located on the west side of the National Gallery of Art is the gallery's Sculpture Garden. Set on six acres on the National Mall, the garden includes a central fountain and 17 sculptures, as well as an impressive collection of perennials, shrubs, trees, and other green, leafy things.

This sculpture, by artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, depicts a typewriter eraser. The sculpture stands more than 20 feet high and captures "a giant falling eraser that has just alighted, the bristles of the brush turned upward in a graceful, dynamic gesture." Claes Oldenburg is known for his "monuments based on common objects...challenging the notion that public monuments must commemorate historical figures or events." (Oldenburg and van Bruggen are also the artists who created the sculpture, Cupid's Span, on the Embarcadero in San Francisco.)

The National Sculpture Garden is located across the street from the National Archives and provides a tranquil space in an urban setting for enjoying ones lunch break.




Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential (Janet M. Kincaid, 05/07)

1 comment:

Chuck Pefley said...

I wonder if this is the same one, or a different iteration of the Eraser ... the Wiki article mentions more than one ... and if memory serves, they are different sizes as well. Fun sculptures, at the very least :)

I always enjoy visiting the sculpture garden when in DC.