The Accidental Possibilities of the City: Claes Oldenburg's Urbanism in Postwar America (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780520305489)

Claes Oldenburg's commitment to familiar objects has shaped accounts of his career, but his associations with Pop art and postwar consumerism have overshadowed another crucial aspect of his work. In this revealing reassessment, Katherine Smith traces Oldenburg's profound responses to shifting urban conditions, framing his enduring relationship with the city as a critical perspective and conceiving his art as urban theory.

Smith argues that Oldenburg adapted lessons of context, gleaned from New York's changing cityscape in the late 1950s, to large-scale objects and architectural plans. By examining disparate projects from New York to Los Angeles, she situates Oldenburg's innovations in local geographies and national debates. In doing so, Smith illuminates patterns of urbanization through the important contributions of one of the leading artists in the United States.

Author: Katherine Smith
ISBN-10: 0520305485
ISBN-13: 9780520305489
Publisher: University of California Press
Language: English
Published: 03/02/2021
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 2.40lbs
Size: 10.30h x 7.40w x 1.10d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 04/01/2022