Oppenheim: Object

In 1936, invited by André Breton to contribute to an exhibition of Surrealist objects, Meret Oppenheim (1913–85) decided to act upon a café conversation she had recently had with Pablo Picasso and his then companion Dora Maar. Commenting on a fur-covered bracelet that Oppenheim had made for the designer Schiaparelli, Picasso remarked that one could cover just about anything in fur, to which Oppenheim had responded, “Even this cup and saucer.” The resulting sculpture was “Object,” a teacup, saucer and spoon purchased from a department store and lined with Chinese gazelle fur.

In this volume of the MoMA One on One series, an essay by Carolyn Lanchner, a former curator of painting and sculpture at MoMA, explores the subversive nature of this sensual yet disturbing work.