Pulling up "Stake" in Dallas - Artworld - Dallas Museum of Art removes work - Brief Article

In August, the Dallas Museum of Art removed the monumental Stake Hitch, by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, from its central barrel-vaulted gallery in order to free up space for changing displays of its permanent collection and traveling exhibitions. The site-specific work had dominated the gallery since the museum opened its new building in 1984, limiting what could be shown alongside it. A Sigmar Polka exhibition, opening Nov. 16, will be the first temporary exhibition in the space.

Oldenburg and van Bruggen's giant stake-and-rope sculpture appeared to anchor the building internally; made of painted steel, aluminum, resin and expanded foam, it reached up 44 1/2 feet and stretched 53 1/2 feet across the gallery. Another portion of the stake (available for viewing only by request) extended 12 feet beneath the gallery floor into the museum's basement loading dock, creating the illusion that the work penetrated the floor. That element has also been removed.

According to reports in the Dallas Morning News, the artists opposed the dismantling of the work because of its site-specific nature, though nothing in their contract prevented its removal. A DMA spokesperson said that Stake Hitch, which is considered one of the museum's signature pieces, will be back on display for at least a year sometime before the end of this decade.

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