Visual Culture Database Form

Provider: Heather Bode

Number:
VCDB -3
Big Idea/Subject:
Food
Major Theme:
Realism
Medium/ Presentation:
Burlap and muslin
soaked in plaster, painted
with enamel, metal bowls,
and ceramic plates in
glass-and-metal case
(Wolf, 2016, 1).
Visual Components:
Texture, color, line, and
space
Category:
Fine Arts
Pop art
Pop culture
Non-art
Authorship:
Title:

ARTE344

Fall 2016

Claes Oldenburg
Pastry Case, I

Original Location:
Museum of Modern Art, New York

Description/Interpretation

In Claes Oldenburgs artwork, different tasty looking

deserts including a banana split, berry pie, cake, cookies, a caramel
apple, meat, and a chocolate and strawberry sundae are displayed
in the display case. The food looks real but slightly fake and
plastic looking. The food has a shine to it. Before reading the
artists interpretation, my personal interpretation of this piece is it
reminds me of the eating disorder binge eating. I also interpreted it
as a message about the obesity epidemic in America. I also thought
the artwork was meant to temp the viewer. Oldenburg claimed that
the urban store windows and advertisements he passed on the way
to work inspired him (Wolf, 2016, 1). According to Wolf, The
desserts are presented for the viewers delectation on real dishes,
heightening the tension between the tempting evocation of edible
goods and their obvious artifice (Wolf, 2016, 1). It is important

for artists to make art just for arts sake or making art for
themselves and what they are passionate about (Wolf, 2016, 1).
The food, of course, cant really be eaten, so that its an
imaginary activity which emphasizes the fact that it is, after all, not
real that its art, whatever that strange thing is of doing something
only for itself rather than for function as stated by Oldenburg
(Wolf, 2016, 1). Oldenburg did not mind if the function was not
clear (Wolf, 2016, 1).

Use in Teaching:

Source:

Students can create their own favorite food out of clay and try to
make it look as delicious looking as possible. We would spend an
extra day painting or glazing the clay after it goes into the kiln. We
could talk about what is the point about making art that is not
edible. Some questions I would ask them are what kind of
advertisements have you seen for food? What is the meaning of
food to you and in art? What is the function of their clay food?
What is the importance of color in artistic food? How do you
tempt the viewer to eat your food?
http://www.moma.org/collection/works/81721?locale=en
Wolf, J. (2016). Claes Oldenburg. Retrieved September 1, 2016,
from The Art Story Modern Art Insight Website:
http://www.theartstory.org/movement-pop-art-artworks.htm