Éric Valentin's Essay on Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen

Éric Valentin's essay, subtitled 'Le grotesque contre le sacré', examines both Claes Oldenburg's solo works and the monumental projects he created with his wife Coosje van Bruggen over nearly thirty years. Published by Éditions Gallimard, the book argues that Oldenburg's grotesque enlargements of ordinary objects in public spaces critique postmodernity and modernism, suggesting that traditional values have been replaced by banality and insignificance. Valentin discusses works like Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks (1969), commissioned by Yale University students, analyzing its relationship to architecture and its surroundings. He compares Oldenburg's gigantism to precedents such as Tatlin's Monument to the Third International, projects by Adolf Loos and Hans Hollein, and Frank Gehry's malleable forms. The author emphasizes a 'Rabelaisian grotesque' that humorously attacks verticality, from the Clothespin in Philadelphia to the baseball bat in Chicago.