Tea Bag, from the portfolio Four on Plexiglas

Claes Oldenburg, Tea Bag, from the portfolio Four on Plexiglas, 1965-1966/published 1966, screenprint on plexiglas and felt, with rope and vacuum-formed plexiglas mounted on paperboard, image, plexiglas, and mount: 40 x 30 x 3 ¹⁄₂ in. (101.6 x 76.2 x 8.9 cm) irregular, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1966.41.3, © 1966, Claes Oldenburg

Artwork Details

Title: Tea Bag, from the portfolio Four on Plexiglas
Artist: Claes Oldenburg
Publisher: Multiples Press
Date: 1965-1966/published 1966
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: image, plexiglas, and mount: 40 x 30 x 3 ¹⁄₂ in. (101.6 x 76.2 x 8.9 cm) irregular
Copyright: © 1966, Claes Oldenburg
Credit Line: Museum purchase
Mediums: print
rope
felt
Mediums Description: screenprint on plexiglas and felt, with rope and vacuum-formed plexiglas mounted on paperboard
Classifications: Graphic Arts
Print
Subjects: Object — foodstuff — beverage
Object Number: 1966.41.3
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1966.41.3

Artwork Description

Claes Oldenburg reconstructed ordinary objects in exaggerated scale and with unexpected materials that defy the nature of the original thing. Tea Bag includes a large piece of Plexiglas -- a hard, industrial material -- molded into the shape of a teabag, an object that in reality is small and soft. The sly, humorous tone of Oldenburg's imagery was an antidote to the seriousness of traditional still-life compositions.

Pop Art Prints, 2014