The Yale University Art Gallery announced that it has received a generous grant as part of the Bank of America Art Conservation Project to support the restoration of Claes Oldenburg’s iconic sculpture “Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks.”
Oldenburg (1929–2022, B.A. 1950) figures among the most consequential artists of the twentieth century. In the years following his undergraduate study in literature and art history at Yale, he became active in the Pop movement, taking everyday objects as his subjects to call attention to the rise of consumerism in American culture. Among his innovations was removing these objects from their usual contexts and enlarging them to a surprising size; often these sculptures were fabricated using soft materials such as canvas, burlap, or vinyl.
“Lipstick” was not meant to be permanent. It was originally constructed of wooden and vinyl elements that quickly degraded, and its surface was soon covered in graffiti and posters. Oldenburg removed the sculpture in 1970 and worked with Lippincott to refabricate it in the more durable materials of aluminum, fiberglass, and steel. In 1974 “Lipstick” was donated to the Gallery and loaned to Yale’s Morse College, where it has remained on view in the residential college’s courtyard.
More information: https://artgallery.yale.edu
