Docent in training Sculpture

Claes Oldenberg, Balzac Petanque, 2009

Fiber-Reinforced plastic, cast epoxy and stainless steel, painted with polyester gelcoat

·         Looking at these pears and peaches what do you think that this sculpture is made of? This sculpture is made of Fiber-reinforced plastic, cast epoxy, and stainless steel. It’s painted with a polyester gelcoat.

·         This piece is called Balzac Petanque (pa-tonk) is in reference to the Author Honore de Balzac  and Petanque which is a French lawn bowling game. Can you see something in this sculpture that might remind you of a French bowling game?  This piece contains 8.5 tons of sand and 18 pieces of fruit. The fruit seems to be scattered about the sand like balls would in a game.

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Why do you think this sculpture is outdoors? Do you think it was intended to be outdoors? The majority of Oldenbergs large scale projects are outdoors. They are featured all over the world.  Many of them are located at universities, on top of buildings and in parks.

·         Claes Oldenburg first came to international prominence in the early 1960s as one of the leaders of the Pop art movement. His transformations of common objects into droopy fabric sculptures or gargantuan monuments have captivated viewers for more than forty years. By creating a small disturbance in the form of toppled fruit, Oldenburg and his wife Coosje van Bruggen invite viewers to discover the links between objects, emotions, and memory. In so doing, they make concrete the magic of moments that look both forward and back-in this case to still lifes of nineteenth-century France.

·         I also mentioned that this piece was also in reference to the author Honore de Balzac.  Balzac wrote a number stories, plays and novels. In one of his works he mentions a Petanque match. What do you think the connection might be between that story and this piece? Maybe the players were having a picnic and eating pears and peaches? Maybe they were tossing the fruit on the ground?