They asked me to do a show, and I was planning on showing my figure paintings. But my friends told me I shouldn't - the paintings were good but a little old-fashioned. They said, "Why don't you show the other stuff?" I had also been making rather strange objects, more in the Freudian tradition.
Claes OldenburgBecause my work is naturally non-meaningful, the meaning found in it will remain doubtful and inconsistent - which is the way it should be. All that I care about is that, like any startling piece of nature, it should be capable of stimulating meaning.
Claes OldenburgI think the Freudian impulse is in everything, so I just accept it. I don't always believe what Freud is saying but it sounds like fun.
Claes OldenburgMy rule was not to paint things as they were. I wasn't copying; I was remaking them as my own.
Claes OldenburgJudson Church was a very important place because they believed in art. They also took care of drug addicts. Without the Judson, nothing could have happened.
Claes Oldenburg