In 1985, the Sohio Oil Company commissioned Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen to design and construct a large outdoor sculpture for its new corporate headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. The result was Free Stamp, a bold and distinctive installation that captured both a Pop Art sensibility and a connection to the city’s industrial past. Sohio executives approved the design, and work was…
July 14th is Bastille Day, the national holiday of France. Bastille Day commemorates the storming of the Bastille fortress and prison by ordinary citizens on July 14th, 1789, an event held by historians and French Citizens to mark the birth of the French Republic and the beginning of the French Revolution. For over a thousand years France had been ruled…
The Cleveland Public Library has supported Public Art for over 100 years. Art at the Library has inspired, mesmerized, and created much discussion over its purpose and meaning. Art creates dialogue and makes us realize we all see something different so let’s talk about it. Ed Mieczkowski was one of those artists who saw and painted things differently. Back…
Cleveland Public Library Special Collections collects artist’s books created by local and regional artists. Artist’s books are works of art that transforms the concept or format of a book into an object of creative expression. They are often published in small editions or produced as one-of-a-kind. The Disobedient Chicken is a contemporary fabric artist book created from a scanned and…
Honoring Cleveland Veterans of WWII: 1942 Roll of Honor on display at Cleveland Public Library The Greater Cleveland Roll of Honor lists the names of many Cleveland area men and women who served during World War II. Since many were on active duty at the time, their wives, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers or other family members would register the name of…
This painting of Superman by pulp magazine artist H.J. Ward comes to our exhibit after a long and mysterious journey. It was commissioned for $100 in 1940 to promote the Superman radio series, and for many years hung in the offices at DC Comics’ New York headquarters. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster saw it every time they visited DC, but…