M. Mouse-1 Ear-Teabag Blackboard Version (1965)
(Axsom & Platzker 109)
12 x 9 inchesM. Mouse-1 Ear-Teabag Blackboard Version (1965) (Axsom & Platzker 109)
1973
screenpint and lithograph in two colors wiped with talcum powder on smooth Rives BFK paper
paper: 11 7/8 x 8 15/16 inches
frame: 13 1/2 x 10 inches
Edition of 300
Signed and numbered in white pencil lower left "CO"
Rubber stamp on label on verso lower left © COPYRIGHT 1973 BY CLAES OLDENBURG/PRINTED AT STYRIA STUDIO"
Printed by Adolf Rischner, Styria Studio, New York
Published by Experiments in Art & Technology, New York
Literature
Axsom, Richard H. and David Platzker. Printed Stuff: Prints, Posters, and Ephemera by Claes Oldenburg, A Catalogue Raisonné 1958-1996. Manchester, Vermont: Hudson Hills Press, 1997, no. 109, p. 236
Provenance
Collection of Ileana Sonnabend & the Estate of Nina Castelli Sundell
Christie’s New York, July 29, 2016, Lot 536, Sale Number 12209
Private Collection, New York, acquired from the above
Museum Collections
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis
Additional Photos
Beginning in January 1971, Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) undertook a large fundraising effort to raise money for E.A.T. and support the artists by assembling a major collection of works by artists active in New York in the 1960's, raise funds to buy it, and donate the full collection to a museum.
CLAES OLDENBURG M. MOUSE-1 TEABAG
Beginning in January 1971, Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.) undertook a large fundraising effort to raise money for E.A.T. and support the artists by assembling a major collection of works by artists active in New York in the 1960's, raise funds to buy it, and donate the full collection to a museum.
E.A.T. approached Pontus Hulten, director of Moderna Museet in Stockholm, to choose the collection, because of his long-time interest in and support of American art and artists at the museum. Claes Oldenburg donated Geometric Mouse to the Moderna Musseet in 1973.
The artists in the collection were chosen by Hulten in consultation with Klüver and other museum people, dealers, and art historians Hulten knew in New York. The collection represents a wide range of media, from painting (Ellsworth Kelly, Cy Twombly, Kenneth Noland, Andy Warhol) and sculpture (Dan Flavin, John Chamberlain, Sol LeWitt, Robert Morris, Oyvind Fahlström, Robert Breer, Hans Haacke, Mark di Suvero) to new media (Robert Whitman, Nam Jun Paik, Walter De Maria) and installation (George Segal, Jim Dine, Larry Rivers) and evolved into a preeminent collection of American art from the 1960's.
The New York Collection For Stockholm opened at Moderna Museet in October 1973 with 105 American guests attending the opening. They traveled on a special charter flight organized by E.A.T. with Scandinavian Airways.
The collection of painting and sculpture represents a broad overview of artistic activity in New York in the 1960's. It included artists working in many genres and styles prevalent during that period: It embodied the range of new work of the early and middle 1960's: geometric abstraction, Pop Art’s depiction of everyday materials and themes from the mass media, the use of industrial fabrication by Minimal artists, incorporation of new technology, and the reintroduction of politics into art as reaction to the Vietnam War.
In the early 1970s, the remarkable organization "Experiments in Art and Technology" (E.A.T.) embarked on an ambitious mission. Recognizing the significance of American art practices from the 1960s, spanning Pop Art, Minimalism, and conceptual art, they aimed to assemble a distinguished collection to be donated to a public museum. The Moderna Museet in Stockholm, with its storied history of supporting contemporary American art, was the chosen beneficiary of this extraordinary collection. To finance this endeavor, E.A.T. invited thirty prominent artists, each tasked with creating a work of art as part of a portfolio predominantly featuring lithographs and screen prints. This endeavor resulted in the creation of "The New York Collection for Stockholm" portfolio.
Founded in 1966 by engineers Billy Klüver and Fred Waldhauer, alongside artists Claes Oldenburg and Robert Whitman, E.A.T. was envisioned as a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the convergence of technology and art. Their programs fostered collaborations between artists, engineers, and scientists. The organization's core objectives, as articulated by Klüver and Rauschenberg, aimed to promote the harmonious union of new technology and the arts, break down barriers between individuals and technological advancements, and kindle innovation within the realms of industry and culture.
In essence, Claes Oldenburg's life and work were a testament to the boundless possibilities of artistic exploration and the profound impact of such collaboration. His legacy continues to inspire artists, engineers, and visionaries across the world.
