System Of Iconography – Plug, Mouse, Good Humor, Lipstick, Switches, 1970-1971

Beautifully framed in a high-end brushed aluminum frame.

Originally designed by Oldenburg for the June 1970 cover of Studio International, this print was part of a later edition published the following year. He released a humorous statement along with the Studio International cover saying, “The drawing is self-explanatory: these objects have attained a status of demi-gods in my work, producing off-spring in the disguise of other objects. The family relation of my subjects becomes evident. Drawings in this manner attempt to establish a lineage, binding my choices together into a “house”.”

All of the objects drawn here Oldenburg produced as sculptures in variations in larger scales. For example, the Detroit Institute of Art has a hanging wooden sculpture, titled “Giant Three-Way Plug” from the same year he designed the cover. Following his iconic 1961 project, “The Store,” his adaptation of Pop critically engaged with America’s celebration of mass consumerism as well as with the history of art.