Meret Oppenheim (Swiss, 1913-1985)
Background
The Swiss Artist was born in Germany. She came from a colorful background, her father
was a physician, her aunt was married to a Nazi, and her grandmother was a well known
writer and illustrator of children’s books. She left school at 17 and began to explore art.
In 1932 she moved to Paris and enrolled briefly in school. She grew bored of academic
life and began hanging out in cafes and galleries where she met other Surrealists and
became closely identified with them. Known for her beauty and free spirit, Oppenheim
would sometimes take walks on the ledges on high buildings. In today’s terms she would
be considered an “A list” celebrity but it became almost a hindrance and did little for
people taking her work seriously. She showed flashes of significant artistic talent but
there is no real evidence of her artistic development. She, herself, was often conflicted
and uncertain as to her life as an artist. However, because of the way she lived her life
and her creative spirit, she was much admired by other female artists.
Like the Surrealists, Oppenheim explored the realm of dreams and fantasy. In 1933,
Oppenheim created her first Surrealist sculpture. Rather than make handmade sculptures
out of art materials, such as clay, metal, or wood, Oppenheim and other Surrealists used
actual objects in bizarre ways. Once Oppenheim tied a pair of shoes to a plate and
presented it as a sculpture!
Portrait of Meret Oppenheim by Man Ray
At age twenty-two, she created her most famous work of art, Object. Oppenheim went to
a department store, bought a teacup, and covered it with the fur of a Chinese gazelle .The
furry teacup was shown in an important exhibition of Surrealist art at the Museum of
Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, and it became one of the most famous
Surrealists sculptures. Like much of Surrealist art, this creation is not only visually
appealing, but it is also playfully invites touch. This individual work brought Oppenheim
much fame and she was still only 22 years old.
Object (objet, Le Dejeuner en
fourrure)
Some say this may have hindered her development as an artist. She attended art school to
try to live up to her new found fame. In 1937 she returned to Switzerland and this period
marked an artistic crisis in her life. Over the next 17 years she battled depression, only
worked in bursts, and destroyed most of what she produced. Later in life, she returned to
creating artworks inspired by her earlier ideas. She also worked on set designs, costumes,
and furniture. Some people disliked her unusual art and were shocked by it. Today,
Oppenheim is best known for Object – sometimes called Luncheon with Fur!
Oppenheim Lesson Plan
Materials:
Scrap material/junk/craft (RI Recycling Center is a good resource as well as the Dollar
Store, Craft store, and saved garbage/recycling materials)
Paper plates and utensils
Poster Board (cut in half, 1/child) to serve as the placemat/base of sculpture
Glue, scissors, tape
Lesson: “Surreal Meal”
Imagine drinking from a teacup lined with fur! The Swiss artist Oppenheim made this
way-out sculpture by combining everyday items in surprising ways that do not make
sense at all. Oppenheim got her idea for the sculpture when she was sitting in a café in
Paris with the famous artist Pablo Picasso. That day she was wearing a fur-trimmed
bracelet. Picasso looked at her bracelet and commented that anything could be covered
with fur. Oppenheim replied, “Even cup and saucer!” Later she bought a teacup and
actually lined it with fur. This strange artwork became one of the most famous Surrealist
sculptures.
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What in the world is going on? Imagine yourself sitting down for a meal (maybe
Thanksgiving?) and finding this….
What objects do you see here? What seems to be really weird about them?
Picture yourself drinking from this cup. Take a sip! What would that be like?
Would you be able to use a cup like this? Why or why not?
How do you think the artist made this sculpture?
How did she change an ordinary object into an outrageous one?
In what ways is this artwork different from most sculptures you have seen?
Imagine what it would be like if everything in the world were made out of
something strange and unexpected? What can you imagine? (buildings of
chocolate? Cars of cotton candy?)
Meret Oppenheim and other Surrealists loved to collect all kinds of objects and use them
to create crazy sculptures by changing the way ordinary things look. Imagine sitting
down to a meal made of flowers, or sipping from a cup filled with cotton balls. In this
project we will be creating a meal like the Surrealist sculptures – crazy, mixed up, and
make-believe.
Activity:
Pass out posterboard, plates, utensils
Pass out scrap materials
Have the kids arrange the materials in crazy ways on poster board
Once satisfied with sculptures pass out glue/tape to secure
Have kids think of a name for their sculpture and present to the class