Shuttlecocks

The Nelson-Atkinson Museum of Art, Kansas City, the USA.

Steel, aluminum, polyurethane enamel.

Four giant badminton shuttlecocks are scattered around the museum building in Kansas City. They were commissioned by private philanthropists – the Sosland family, as is indicated on a granite slab near the entrance to the museum. On the same plate is a map indicating the location of each sculpture. Initially, the artist planned to scatter bird feathers on the lawns, as if some huge bird flew past and dropped them. However, seeing the whole territory from above, Oldenburg noticed that it was very similar to a badminton field, and replaced feathers with frills.