In 1985, sculptor Claes Oldenburg, his wife, writer Coosje van Bruggen, architect Frank Gehry and writer Germano Celant collaborated on a multimedia installation in Venice, titled Il Corso del Coltello, or The Course of the Knife. The collaboration incorporated elements of architecture, sculpture and performance, transforming the canals and streets of Venice into a stage. In line with Oldenburg’s idiosyncratic visual language, everyday objects were rendered in gargantuan scale. The focal point of the installation was the Knife Ship, a monumental, 83-foot sculpture of a Swiss Army Knife.  

“Claes Oldenburg has always had a unique relationship with the commonplace. He has done more than exrapolate it from its habitual context; he has created it. He has exploited its dramatic and spectacular potential, finally giving it hypersignificance.”

—Germano Celant

Spectators played crucial roles in Il Corso, blurring the delineations between performance and installation. Upon arrival, the attendees were guided to a recreated “café” setting within a piazza at the Arsenale, where they each received menus. The dishes listed were absurd amalgamations of the everyday objects and traditional Italian food. Options like ‘lettere di pollo’ (chicken letters) and ‘calzone con pattini’ (calzones with skates) were accompanied by sketches done by Oldenburg. The present example is a preliminary sketch for the menu item ‘Arcobaleno di tartine’ or rainbow of pies.