One of the most controversial works of art displayed
in the City of Cleveland is Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s
Free Stamp. Located in Willard Park to the East of City Hall,
this massive aluminum and planted steel sculpture is difficult
to miss with its large red handle sprawling across the lawn
and metal base sinking into the ground displaying the word “FREE”
in backwards letters to passersby on Lakeside Avenue. Some people
see the Free Stamp as an inspiring work of Pop Art that represents
our liberty as American citizens and reflects our City’s
industrial progress. Others view it as an eyesore that is inappropriate
for a location at the heart of the City’s Civic Center.
This debate has been going on since the piece was first commissioned
in 1982 and still echoes throughout the City today.
Artists Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen
designed the Free Stamp at the request of Standard Oil and admit
that it was one of the most difficult works of art they have
ever created. The controversy began soon after Standard Oil
was awarded permission to tear down the old Standard Oil of
Ohio (SOHIO) building located on Public Square. As construction
of the new building began, SOHIO decided that it wanted a fresh
work of art to display outside its doors, directly across from
one of the City’s historical landmarks, the Soldiers and
Sailors Monument. After seeing the “pad” of land with
which they had to work, Oldenburg and van Bruggen, who are famous
for making large replicas of common objects such as spoons,
ice cream cones, and bowling pins, proposed the idea of creating
an enormous stamp.
The original design for the sculpture was an upright,
self-inking stamp, with a red handle which looked like a giant
exclamation point. The first design allowed access so that people
could actually walk around inside the stamp, but management
at SOHIO soon agreed that such a structure would require a lot
of maintenance. The design was then restructured to look like
a hand stamp on an ink pad. The question was then raised as
to what word would be placed on the stamp. The artists wanted
a word that would serve as a statement, like a one-word poem,
but could also be found on a real office stamp. The physical
dimension of the work was also a consideration as the diameters
of the Free Stamp left room for only 4 letters. Van Bruggen
suggested the word “Free” to represent liberty and
independence and to make a positive statement in the heart of
the City.
Just as construction on a revised design began,
SOHIO underwent a change in management. The new managers did
not like the idea of placing a massive piece of pop art on Public
Square, especially a 50-foot stamp. Several opponents of the
Free Stamp feared that the message conveyed by the work would
invite jokes about the condition of Downtown Cleveland, which
during the 1980s was in need of revitalization. SOHIO gave Oldenburg
and van Bruggen the opportunity to relocate the stamp, but the
artists did not want to move it. The location at Public Square
added to the artistic expression of the work in a way other
locations could not.
Production of the Stamp was halted for several
years and pieces of it were placed in storage in Indiana. As
BP America assumed management of SOHIO, executives wondered
why the company was paying so much to house a huge stamp. Interest
was renewed in the work of art and Mayor George Voinovich invited
Oldenburg and van Bruggen to Cleveland in hopes of selecting
another site to display their work. Although the Cleveland Museum
of Art was considered, the artists wanted their work to be seen
in the heart of Downtown and set their sights on Willard Park
for its proximity to Public Square and because of its location
to Cleveland’s government offices.
Placing the Free Stamp in Willard Park immediately
drew opposition from Council President, George Forbes, who did
not support the idea of the City of Cleveland accepting a rejected
work of art and displaying it right outside of City Hall. Once
again, the artists had chosen their location as part of their
artistic statement and were unwilling to compromise their artistic
integrity. This time, they threatened to destroy the work entirely
if the City did not want to display it.
Before the artists could act on their threat,
Election Day 1989 had passed and newly elected Mayor, Michael
R. White, and Council President, Jay Westbrook, expressed their
interest in this unique work. BP America finally decided that
it would donate the Free Stamp as a gift to the City and offered
to maintain it in its new location. City Council accepted this
generous gift and the Free Stamp was brought out of storage
and redesigned to accommodate its new space.
The lawn at Willard Park inspired Oldenburg and
van Bruggen to alter the position of the Free Stamp so that
it would lie on its side, as if it had toppled over on someone’s
desk. Van Bruggen felt that the new design reflected the Free
Stamp’s history as it was “flung” from Public
Square only to “land” in Willard Park. Production
on the Free Stamp resumed and it was brought to Cleveland in
pieces to be assembled in its current spot.
The Free Stamp was officially inaugurated on November 15, 1991.
The Dedication reads:
Free Stamp
Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen
1991- Planted Steel and Aluminum
Gift of BP America
To the City of Cleveland
Michael R. White- Mayor
Jay Westbrook- City Council President
Dedicated 11-15-1991
Source:
Oldenburg, Claes and Coosje van Bruggen. Large
Scale Projects. Martacelli Press, Inc.
New York, NY, 1994. pp 486-499.
