Soft Drainpipe - Blue (Cool) Version 1967

Here we have Claes Oldenburg’s Soft Drainpipe, and like a lot of his work, it throws you for a loop. Oldenburg takes the mundane – in this case, a drainpipe – and renders it in an unexpected way that makes you look again. It makes you wonder what is it, what is it doing, is it a prop? A tool? A sculpture? He has a knack for making the ordinary feel utterly strange and new. I imagine him wrestling with the floppy, giving material, coaxing it into this form that’s both familiar and alien. Look at how the blue droops and folds! It almost feels like it's breathing, doesn't it? It's about finding poetry in the everyday, transforming it into something that sparks a conversation. You can also see that he is in conversation with Marcel Duchamp. Thinking about readymades but changing up the materials! It reminds us that art isn't just about grand statements or pristine surfaces. It's about engaging with the world around us, and finding ways to question our assumptions.