Claes Oldenburg

London Knees 1966

1966, published 1968

Multiple of polyurethaned latex “knees,” acrylic base, two sewn felt bags, and twelve photolithographs in three folders; housed in cloth-covered case

Not on view

In the mid-1960s, Oldenburg became fascinated with the recent inventions of the miniskirt and go-go boots. He mused over how "revolutionary this paradoxical combination of masculine voyeurism and feminine liberation seemed in its time. The architectural and fetishistic functions of knees were accentuated by the fashion of wearing boots with the mini, which created a sharply demarcated area of the body suitable for objectification." Working with the London-based publisher Editions Alecto, Oldenburg created his London Knees, a copious portfolio of twenty-one prints imagining his knees as proposed colossal monuments situated around London and a pair of flesh-like, life-size knees with a base, all contained in a businessman's traveling valise.

Gallery label from

From the Collection: 1960-69, March 26, 2016 - March 12, 2017.

Medium Multiple of polyurethaned latex “knees,” acrylic base, two sewn felt bags, and twelve photolithographs in three folders; housed in cloth-covered case
Dimensions overall (case, closed): 7 1/2 x 17 x 11 5/8" (19 x 43.2 x 29.5 cm)
Publisher Editions Alecto Ltd., London, in association withNeuendorf Verlag, Berlin
Printer Lautrec Litho Ltd., Leeds, Editions Alecto Ltd., London
Fabricator Models Ltd., London, Hadfields Radiation Research Ltd., Surrey, J. Watson and Co. Ltd., London
Edition 120
Credit Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Lester Francis Avnet
Object number 1610.1968.1-14
Department Drawings and Prints

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