Lot 42 | Claes Oldenburg | "Ghost Wardrobe for M. M."

OLDENBURG, CLAES
1929 Stockholm - 2022 New York

Title: "Ghost Wardrobe for M. M.".
Subtitle: 4 parts.
Date: 1967-1983.
Technique: Wardrobe, hangers, cords, shoes (metal, nails and concrete), wires.
Measurement: Ca. 178 x 107 x 60cm.
Notation: Titled, monogrammed and dated on top of the plate: Ghost Wardrobe for M. M. co 67-83. As well as signed, dated and inscribed underneath: Oldenburg 67-83 G.W.M.M.


Provenance:
- Kasper König Collection, Berlin (directly from the artist)

Exhibitions:
- Sidney Jannis Gallery, New York 1967
- National Portrait Gallery, London 2007-08
- Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart 2008
- Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden 2009
- MUMOK, Vienna 2012
- Museum Ludwig, Cologne, 2012
- Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao 2013
- Museum of Modern Art, New York 2013
- Walker Art Center, Minneapolis 2013-13
- Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden 2017/2018

Literature:
- Ginsburg, Susan, Claes Oldenburg: Sculpture, 1960-1968. A Catalogue Raisonne. (Volumes I and II), 1991, CUNY Academic Works, no. 360
- Exhib. cat. Homage to Marilyn Monroe, Sidney Jannis Gallery, New York 1967
- Lawrence Alloway, Marilyn as Subject Matter, in. Lawrence Alloway, Topics in American Art since 1945, New York 1975, pp. 140-144, here p. 144
- Exhib. cat. America America, How Real is Real?, Museum Frieder Burda, Esslingen 2017, p. 50, ill.

New York and König
At the beginning of the 1960s, Claes Oldenburg created a place for himself in the canon of Pop Art with his oversized everyday objects made of papier-mâché and his Soft Sculptures. In 1965, Kasper König travelled to New York for the London gallery owner Robert Frazer, where he worked in galleries and as a consultant. In order to obtain a permanent work permit in the form of a green card, König is employed as the American representative for the Modern Museet in Stockholm. In September 1966, Oldenburg was given the exhibition 'Skulpturer och teckningar, 1963-1966' at the Moderna Museet Stockholm, which the 23-year-old Kasper König curated on behalf of Pontus Hultén. This marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship that would lead to numerous collaborations. At the beginning of the 1970s, the relationship grew closer. Oldenburg begins to sort through his documents and scripts for performances, which are later published by König under the title 'Raw Notes' at Nova Scotia College Press. In 1972 König becomes director of Claes Oldenburg's 'Mouse Museum' at documenta 5 in Kassel and, together with the artist, selects 367 objects to be catalogued for the museum. For the premiere of Skulptur Projekte Münster in 1977, Oldenburg installed his 'Pool Balls', which still stand at the Aasee in Münster today and at the same time established his artistic collaboration with Coosje van Bruggen. The close connection between Oldenburg and König is evident in solo exhibitions at Portikus (1992) and Museum Ludwig (2012). 'Ghost Wardrobe for M.M.' from the Kasper König Collection symbolises the friendship between curator and artist that has lasted over 50 years.

Popular subject of Pop Art
Claes Oldenburg's work is presented at the Sidney Jannis Gallery in New York in December 1967. Under the title 'Homage to Marilyn Monroe', the exhibition shows works by Rauschenberg, Rotella, Wesselmann and Dalì, among others, as well as Oldenburg's first metal sculpture Lipstick. The sculpture is modified and further developed by the artist into the final work 'Ghost Wardrobe for M.M.': Three metal hangers are suspended from screwed-together water pipes, on which hang the clothes that the famous American actress Marilyn Monroe once wore, outlined by a string. Not only is the white dress from the film 'The 7 Year Itch' (1955) indicated, but also the swimming costume from the last film 'Misfits' (1961). The evening dress that Monroe wore to the birthday party of American President John F. Kennedy in 1962 also hangs on a hanger as a third 'garment'. The absence of the film star is emphasised once again by tin pumps standing on the floor with balls on the toes and rusty nails as heels.

The floating myth of Monroe
Diametrically opposed to the well-known designs by Warhol or Hamilton, Oldenburg captures Marilyn Monroe, whose films and physicality are still considered a projection screen for Hollywood and sexuality, as a fleeting memory. Oldenburg emphasises the melancholy and tragedy of the actress, which always accompanied Monroe, in the sculpture by showing only three silhouettes as an empty form and shell. Oldenburg's work alludes to the idea that although Marilyn Monroe is no longer physically present, her presence can still be felt - like a ghost - and immortalises the cinematic sex symbol as a mystery that still fascinates today.