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Screenprint in three colors based on his 1961 drawing Ray Gun Poster; printed on white, thick, slightly textured paper. Signed by the artist lower right in pencil; numbered lower center in pencil.
Ray gun is one of Oldenburg’s most iconic motifs, the artist’s tongue-in-cheek alter ego. Oldenburg took the name from a weapon used in the show “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D.,” that he had watched as a boy. This large screenprint spells out “Ray Gun” in capital letters. The words look ripped, and the textured background is reminiscent of asphalt.
Claes Oldenburg and Jim Dine opened the exhibition Ray Gun in 1960 at Judson Gallery in New York, marking Oldenburg’s entry into contemporary art history. The exhibition featured performance and installation, and a wide variety of printed collateral such as mimeographed “artist’s books”, mimeographed drawings, offset lithographs, and posters.
