Collaboration
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen, Leaning Fork with Meatball and Spaghetti II, Fiberglass painted with Polyurethan, 334×130.8×99.1cm, Triennale Design Museum. (Oldenburg & Van Bruggen)
Collaborative artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen have created this piece ‘Leaning Fork with Meatball and Spaghetti, II’ together. Coming from the Pop art movement, Oldenburg and Van Bruggen have work inspired by many aspects of pop culture and everyday life.
“The pair met in 1971, when Coosje was a young curator at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and Claes was a subversive and prominent force in Pop Art. They married six years later and Coosje soon turned from interlocutor into fully fledged artist and collaborator in her own right.” (Smith, 2021).
The married couple are an iconic duo, they were both on different paths but when they joined forces it proved to be a successful match where their joint work flourished.
“…the fantastical world of Claes & Coosje. A world where high and low art converge, imagination roams free, love doesn’t wane, and where, ultimately, it takes two.” (Smith, 2021).
Since the passing of Coosje Van Bruggen, no more collaborative work has been made, but it gives the viewer a chance to reflect on how special the bond was between the two creators and the impact they had on each other to create these large scale works most critically acclaimed.
Overall, working as a collaborative has benefitted the work of Van Bruggen and Oldenburg as it has brought them success and fulfilment through the impact of their work. The married couple brought a mass number of sculptures together, they benefitted each other as it allowed them to focus on what was important to them- Oldenburg even helped Van Bruggen become a fully-fledged artist and collaborator in her own right.
Bibliography
Oldenburg & Van Bruggen, C. (n.d.). Leaning Fork with Meatball and Spaghetti, II. Triennale Design Museum.
Smith, H. L. (2021). The Dynamic Duet of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen. Wallpaper.com.