Lipstick Ascending on Caterpillar Tracks 1969 by Claes Oldenburg
Lipstick Ascending On Caterpillar Tracks
Claes Oldenburg’s Monumental Satire: When Cosmetics Met Military Might
Few works of 20th-century art distill the absurdity of power as sharply as Lipstick Ascending On Caterpillar Tracks. Unveiled in 1969 at Yale University, this towering sculpture—a 24-foot-tall lipstick tube perched atop tank treads—was Oldenburg’s response to the Vietnam War protests roiling American campuses. The piece transformed a symbol of femininity into a mechanized behemoth, its phallic form ascending like a missile while its base evoked the crushing weight of military force. Originally commissioned as a temporary installation, the work’s provocative juxtaposition of beauty and brutality cemented its place in art history. As the Museum of Modern Art later observed, Oldenburg’s sculpture “weaponized the mundane,” forcing viewers to confront the surreal intersections of consumer culture and geopolitical violence.
The Yale context was critical. Students had occupied the university’s Ingalls Rink in May 1970 to protest the war and the presence of ROTC programs on campus. Oldenburg’s lipstick, painted a glossy coral pink, loomed over the scene like a grotesque monument to the era’s contradictions—its vibrant color clashing with the olive drab of military hardware. The caterpillar tracks, borrowed from construction equipment, grounded the piece in industrial realism while the lipstick’s upward thrust suggested both eroticism and aggression. Unlike his earlier soft sculptures, this work was rigid, monumental, and unmistakably political. Its temporary nature (the original was destroyed in 1971) only amplified its mythos, turning it into a ghostly emblem of late-1960s dissent.
Oldenburg in 1969: From Soft Sculptures to Public Provocations
By the late 1960s, Claes Oldenburg had already redefined sculpture with his sagging vinyl soft objects—giant hamburgers, drooping light switches, and deflated typewriters that mocked the rigidity of modernist form. But Lipstick Ascending marked a pivot. Where his earlier works invited tactile engagement, this piece was confrontational, a hard-edged rebuttal to the era’s escalating violence. The year 1969 found Oldenburg at the peak of his involvement with public art, collaborating with engineers and fabricators to realize works that could withstand outdoor conditions while retaining their subversive wit. His partnership with the architect Frank Gehry on the 1973 Binoculars building in Venice, California, would later echo this blend of functionality and absurdity.
The Yale commission arrived as Oldenburg was exploring the “monumental” phase of his career, a shift documented in his 1967 manifesto Proposals for Monuments and Buildings. In it, he sketched outlandish ideas like a Colossal Ashtray for New York’s Times Square or a Giant Fagend (cigarette butt) for London’s Trafalgar Square. Lipstick Ascending was the first of these fantasies to materialize at scale, and its reception revealed the tensions inherent in public art. Conservatives decried it as frivolous; radicals saw it as co-optation. Yet its very ambiguity—was it a celebration of protest or a parody of student activism?—ensured its longevity in the cultural imagination. As art historian The Art Story notes, Oldenburg’s genius lay in his ability to “transform the banal into the monumental while leaving its meaning deliciously unresolved.”
The lipstick’s upward trajectory mirrors the era’s contradictory impulses: a desire for liberation clashing with the machinery of control. Unlike his soft sculptures, which invited touch, this work demands distance—its scale forces viewers to crane their necks, replicating the power dynamics it critiques.
The Engineering of Absurdity: How Lipstick Ascending Was Built
Material Contradictions
The original sculpture combined fiberglass, steel, and automotive paint—a far cry from the plush vinyl of Oldenburg’s earlier works. The lipstick tube, fabricated by boatbuilders in Rhode Island, was hollow yet reinforced to withstand winds, its surface coated in high-gloss coral paint that gleamed like wet enamel. The caterpillar tracks, salvaged from a bulldozer, were bolted to a steel base, their rusted metal contrasting with the pristine cosmetic. This clash of materials mirrored the work’s thematic tensions: the ephemeral (makeup) versus the permanent (military hardware), the organic (the lipstick’s phallic shape) versus the mechanical (the treads’ geometric precision).
Scale and Site-Specificity
Oldenburg’s sketches reveal his obsession with proportion. The lipstick’s 24-foot height wasn’t arbitrary; it matched the scale of the surrounding Brutalist architecture at Yale, ensuring the piece would dominate the plaza without dwarfing it. The caterpillar tracks, meanwhile, were sized to suggest mobility—had the sculpture been functional, it could have “driven” through the campus gates. This illusion of potential movement was critical. Unlike static monuments, Lipstick Ascending implied action, its upward angle suggesting both erection and ascent, as if the lipstick were a rocket poised for launch. The work’s temporary installation (it stood for just two years) further emphasized its performative nature, turning its eventual demolition into part of the narrative.
Own This Icon of 1960s Protest Art
This framed print captures Oldenburg’s audacious fusion of pop culture and political critique. Each 30×40 cm piece arrives gallery-ready with archival inks and a solid wood frame—free worldwide shipping included.
Add to Cart — $24999Where to Display Lipstick Ascending: A Statement Piece for Bold Spaces
This print’s high-contrast palette and industrial-meets-glamour aesthetic demand a setting that can handle its energy. In a modern loft, pair it with exposed concrete walls and black steel shelving—the caterpillar tracks will echo the raw textures while the lipstick’s coral pop provides warmth. For a home office, position it above a mid-century desk; the work’s political undertones will resonate in a space dedicated to ideas and debate. Avoid overly traditional rooms: the print’s satire loses its edge against floral wallpaper or antique furnishings. Instead, let it anchor a gallery wall of 1960s–70s protest art, or hang it solo in a narrow hallway where its vertical composition can draw the eye upward. At 30×40 cm, it’s sized to dominate a side table or console without overwhelming the room.
Is the frame included? What’s the quality?
Every print arrives with a solid wood frame, hand-assembled to archival standards. The molding features a classic profile with a matte finish that complements the artwork without competing with it.
Where do you ship, and how long does delivery take?
We offer free shipping worldwide, with no minimum order. Delivery typically takes 5–10 business days, depending on your location. All prints are dispatched from our production facility in the EU.
How long will the colors stay vibrant?
Our prints use pigment-based archival inks rated for 100+ years without fading. The paper is acid-free and lignin-free, ensuring the coral pink and industrial grays remain as bold as the day they were printed.
What’s your return policy?
If you’re not satisfied, return the print within 30 days for a full refund. We cover return shipping costs, and no restocking fees apply.
Sources & Further Reading
- Museum of Modern Art. "Claes Oldenburg: Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks." MoMA, 2023.
- The Art Story. "Claes Oldenburg: Pop Art’s Provocateur." The Art Story Foundation, 2024.
- Smithsonian American Art Museum. "Claes Oldenburg: Sculpting the Everyday." Smithsonian Institution, 2025.
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Oldenburg’s oeuvre spans six decades of playful subversion, from giant food to monumental tools. These prints capture his signature blend of humor and critique.
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