If you can't figure out who Andy is, the rest of this ain't gonna make a lot of sense.
One of Oldenburg's many silly and wonderful "proposed collosal monuments."
A fictional corporation of which Oldenburg was the president and sole employee. Originally created in the context of Oldenburg's first major project, THE STORE.
Pittsburgh is Andy Warhol's home town. For the definitive comment on the nature of Pittsburgh and its citizens, I refer you to Preston Sturges' SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS.
Brillo and Corn Flakes and building soup can
pyramids
BRILLO BOX (SOAP PADS), KELLOGG'S BOX (CORN FLAKES) and 100 CANS are early, major works by Warhol.
Robert Rauschenberg is a key figure in Pop and, indeed, in 20th century art. But you knew that.
Roy Lichtenstein is another colossus of Pop. He has most recently been in the news as designer of the corporate logo for the Dreamworks film studio. Draw your own conclusions.
Among Oldenburg's most famous works are his "soft" sculptures
A reference to a Warhol self-portrait. Unfortunately, I can't remember the specific title of the work just this minute. I'll have to look it up.
"It's...it's not an engagement ring...
A reference to and desciption of Lichtenstein's ENGAGEMENT RING.
A reference to Lichtenstein's LOOK MICKEY.
Matson-Jones was the pseudonym employed by Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns for their commercial enterprises, notable the design of shop windows.
A reference to Warhol's painting A BOY FOR MEG.
A reference to Warhol's painting 129 DIE IN JET (PLANE CRASH)
giant hamburger and shoestring
potatoes
GIANT HAMBURGER and FALLING SHOESTRING POTATOES are soft sculptures by Oldenburg
A reference to Oldenburg's BEDROOM, a...well, you have to see it.
"Just what is it that makes today's
homes...
JUST WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES TODAY'S HOMES SO DIFFERENT, SO APPEALING is a -- perhaps *the* - seminal Pop work by Richard Hamilton.
Happenings were proto-performance art pieces staged by Oldenburg, among others. They were about as silly as you might imagine.
A reference to James Rosenquist's painting OVER THE SQUARE
Images of cars and crashed cars figure prominently in the Pop aesthetic. See, e.g., Warhol's SATURDAY DISASTER or Rosenquist's CAR TOUCH. Read CRASH by J.G. Ballard. Because you should.
Okay, this is pretty pathetic. Jim's diner - - Jim Dyne. Get it?
This pretty well describes the image depicted in OVER THE SQUARE.
A reference to Rosenquist's painting I LOVE YOU WITH MY FORD. Is this all getting just a little too cute or what?
underground tunnels are lined with
velvet
The Velvet Underground were Warhol proteges.
Nico used to sing with the Velvet Underground
Lou Reed was the leader of the Velvet Underground
gleaming chrome faucet/giant teddy bear/bowling balls/ice cream
bar/colossal saw/twenty-story fan
These are all examples of Oldenburg's sketches and designs for "proposed, colossal monuments." I like to think that someday at least *one* of them will be realized. The teddy bear would be my choice.
Another too-cute reference, this time to Larry Rivers, the loud-mouthed Pop artist.
47th Street in Manhattan was the location of Warhol's "Factory." Valerie Solanas was the woman who shot Warhol in front of the Factory, pretty well ruining his life.
Self-explanatory
EMPIRE is one of Warhol's more notorious exercises in cinematic tedium
CHELSEA GIRLS is another film by Warhol
Warhol is probably better known for having coined the phrase "In the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes" than for his art. There's a moral there somewhere.
"But do I want to be such a
machine?"
A reference to another famous Warhol line in which he claimed that he wanted to be a machine
Oldenburg's immense sculpture/fountain of a giant spoon and marashino cherry is a witty delight.
GREEN COCA-COLA BOTTLES is yet another Warhol painting.
Norma Jean is...oh, *everybody* knows who Norma Jean is.