Object Image

The husband and wife team of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen were commissioned in 1994 to design a sculpture for The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. They responded to the formality of the original neoclassical building and the green expanse of its lawn by imagining the Museum as a badminton net and the lawn as a playing field. The pair designed four birdies or shuttlecocks that were placed as though they had just landed on opposite sides of the net. Each shuttlecock weighs 5,500 pounds, stands nearly 18 feet tall and has a diameter of some 16 feet.

Purchase: acquired through the generosity of the Sosland Family...

1994
Aluminum, fiberglass-reinforced plastic, paint
230.3 x 191.9in
F94-1/3
Text: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2023
Image: Estate of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen

Where you'll find this

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Permanent collection

Deepen your knowledge