UNLV “Flashlight” sculpture artist dies at 93

Swedish-born artist Claes Oldenburg, the artist behind UNLV’s “Flashlight” and CityCenter sculpture “Typewriter Eraser, Scale X,” died on Monday in New York City at age 93.

Oldenburg, born in Stockholm in 1929, was known for his public sculptures depicting everyday objects on a large scale. He was a pioneer in the Pop Art movement of the 1960s, and frequently collaborated with his wife Coosje van Bruggen to create installations found worldwide. The two created over 40 large outdoor sculptures together before her death in 2009.

Oldenburg’s Las Vegas history

His 38-foot piece “Flashlight,” created with van Bruggen, debuted at UNLV in 1981. It is located in its original home between Artemus Ham Concert Hall and Judy Bayley Theatre.

According to UNLV, the sculpture was commissioned to “amplify the vision” of the performing arts center, according to UNLV campus architect James McDaniels. Initially, Oldenburg declined the commission for the sculpture from a university advisory committee, but after negotiations with another artist fell through, Oldenburg was reinvited by the committee to create a piece, and he accepted.

The 74,000-pound piece was transported from Oldenburg’s Connecticut studio to Las Vegas on an 18-wheeler to be installed.

Oldenburg told the Los Angeles Times in 1988 that the city of Las Vegas appeared as “a small patch of light in a vast desert darkness … A flashlight seemed to be the proper symbol for that beacon of light in the desert.”

Oldenburg and van Bruggen’s 19-foot sculpture “Typewriter Eraser, Scale X,” created in 1999, is located at CityCenter as part of its Fine Art Collection next to the PokerGO Studio. It is the largest of three typewriter eraser sculptures created by Oldenburg and van Bruggen, according to the CityCenter Fine Art Collection, and has been on display since the Aria Resort and Casino opened in 2009.

Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tmflane on Twitter.