Claes Oldenburg

I am for an art that is political-erotical-mystical, that does something other than sit on its ass in a museum.

I am for an art that is sweet and dumb and cheap and childish and dirty and ugly.

I am for an art that grows up in a living room like a sweet old man.

I am for an art that takes its form from the lines of life itself, that twists and turns and has no end.

I am for an art that is a fat, juicy hamburger, eaten in the street, or a slice of lemon meringue pie, eaten in the street.

I am for an art that is a public art, that is not hidden away in museums or private collections.

I am for an art that is as big as the world and as small as a button.

I am for an art that is a joke, or a dream, or a nightmare.

I am for an art that is a part of everyday life, that is not separate from it.

I am for an art that is a scream, or a whisper, or a sigh.

I want to make things that are so common that they are almost invisible, and then make them visible again.

My art is an attempt to make the everyday extraordinary.

I like to take things that are soft and make them hard, and things that are hard and make them soft.

The object is a vehicle for emotion.

I am interested in the monumentalization of the trivial.

Art should be a part of the environment, not separate from it.

I want to make art that is as real as a hot dog.

The city is my studio.

My work is about the transformation of the ordinary.

I like to play with scale, to make small things big and big things small.