"Yale University's decision to move a beloved Claes Oldenburg sculpture to a different location on campus has sparked a lot of strong feelings about staying true to the late alum artist's intentions this week. When letters were found etched on the surface of Oldenburg's "Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks" (1969) last month, the university announced that after 50 years in the Morse College courtyard, the public work would be moved to the Yale University Art Gallery (YUAG) for "conservation and care," the Yale Daily News reported."
"Oldenburg, who graduated from Yale in 1950, created the 24-foot steel sculpture in collaboration with a group of the university's architecture students as a surprise gift to the school in 1969 - the same year the school began accepting women to study. It was originally installed with an inflatable lipstick crayon at the university's Beinecke Plaza to serve as a speaking platform during a series of anti-Vietnam War protests, but after severe vandalism, Oldenburg and the students removed and refabricated it for durability before giving it back to Yale."
Yale deinstalled Claes Oldenburg's Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks from Morse College after etched letters were discovered on its surface. YUAG confirmed the sculpture was removed for conservation and care and said it will undergo additional offsite conservation before being displayed in the Gallery's outdoor sculpture garden in March 2026. Oldenburg created the 24-foot steel work in 1969 with architecture students; it originally included an inflatable lipstick used as a speaking platform during anti-Vietnam War protests. After severe vandalism the piece was refabricated for durability and returned to Yale. The work was reinstalled in Morse Court in 1974 and served as the residential community's emblem for fifty years.
Read at Hyperallergic
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]