Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks
Claes Oldenburg. 1969-1974 C.E. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Cor-Ten steel, steel, aluminum, and cast resin; painted with polyurethane enamel.
Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks claimed a visible space for the anti-war movement while also poking fun at the
solemnity of the plaza. The sculpture served as a stage and backdrop for several subsequent student protests.
Content:
A huge lipstick with an orange top.
Context:
It was first installed on Beinecke Plaza, New Haven in 1969. It was built secretly. The
sculpture is made out of inexpensive and perishable materials such as plywood tracks and an
inflatable vinyl balloon tip. It was built secretly. It combines male and female forms such as
themes of death, power, desire, and sensuality.
Form:
Symmetrical balance
Style:
Pop Art; Male and female forms
Function:
This was used as a platform for public speakers that were rallying points for anti-Vietnam era
protests.
Meaning:
The meaning behind this is to show the feminine and masculine properties of the war in the
United States.Current Location: Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
- gathered momentum in the 1950s, climax in the 1960s
- uses materials from everyday life -- items of mass popular culture
- glorifies the commonplace, bringing the view face to face with everyday reality
- art is not satirical
- reaction against Abstract Expressionism
Claes Oldenburg, Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks, 1969-1974, cor-ten steel, aluminum, and cast resin, painted with polyurethane enamel, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
- first installed in Beinecke Plaza, New Haven in 1969
- FUNCTION: platform for public speakers; rallying point for anti-Vietnam protests
- put up secretly
- tank shaped base = anti-war
- male and female forms unite (tank and lipstick) FUNCTION
- death, power, desire, and sensuality themes
- inexpensive and perishable materials FORM
- originally: plywood tracks and inflatable vinyl balloon tip
- refurbished: steel, aluminum, and fiberglass
- reinstalled in 1974 front of Morse College @ Yale
- Column of Trajan
- Lin, Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Siege of Belgrade
