--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can take an object and simply put…" description: "\"You can take an object and simply put anything you want in that object, and I accessed that partly through Freudian ideas.\" — Claes Oldenburg" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/claes-oldenburg-10596_freudian_you-can-take-an-object-and-simply-put-an_1649144.png" --- # You can take an object and simply put anything you want in… ![“You can take an object and simply put anything you want in that object, and I accessed that partly through Freudian ideas.” quote by Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/claes-oldenburg-10596_freudian_you-can-take-an-object-and-simply-put-an_1649144.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/claes-oldenburg-10596_freudian_you-can-take-an-object-and-simply-put-an_1649144.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/claes-oldenburg-10596_freudian_you-can-take-an-object-and-simply-put-an_1649144.png) > “You can take an object and simply put anything you want in that object, and I accessed that partly through Freudian ideas.” [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes art as a container for any meaning, shaped by subconscious influences. **In simple terms:** Art can hold any idea. Key Takeaway Use art to explore hidden thoughts. Themes creativity interpretation psychology Mood thoughtful analytical Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - gallery installations - public sculptures - educational workshops Key Concepts Freudian theory conceptual art Questions to Reflect On - What personal symbols do you embed in objects? - How does audience perception shape meaning? A Different Perspective Interpretation varies widely, risking misreadings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freudian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freudian/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) ## Related quotes > [“I want to be the object of your objections.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-want-to-be-the-object-of-your-objections/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I think the Freudian impulse is in everything, so I just accept it. I don't always believe what Freud is saying but it sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-think-the-freudian-impulse-is-in-everything-so-i-just-accept-it-i/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [Freudian psychoanalytical theory is a mythology that answers pretty well to Levi-Strauss's descriptions. It brings some kind of order into incoherence; it, too, hangs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/freudian-psychoanalytical-theory-is-a-mythology-that-answers-pretty/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [“The English language is shot through with idioms and expressions which allude to violence without inciting it, most of which pass without notice unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-nunberg/the-english-language-is-shot-through-with-idioms-and-expressions/) [Geoffrey Nunberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-nunberg/) > [“In the 1890s, when Freud was in the dawn of his career, he was struck by how many of his female patients were revealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/in-the-1890s-when-freud-was-in-the-dawn-of-his-career-he-was-struck/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [Our culture is so inundated with Freudian prototypes, and I think that 'Twin Peaks' came up with a whole new Pandora's Box of outlandishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carel-struycken/our-culture-is-so-inundated-with-freudian-prototypes-and-i-think-that/) [Carel Struycken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carel-struycken/) > [Apparently, as a kid, I used to eat spiders. Maybe there's some Freudian significance behind that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-smith/apparently-as-a-kid-i-used-to-eat-spiders-maybe-there-s-some-freudian/) [Matt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-smith/) > [“My whole life I’d lived off the one wretched ambition that still possessed me: to be more than I was; to reject and despise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mela-hartwig/my-whole-life-i-d-lived-off-the-one-wretched-ambition-that-still/) Mela Hartwig > [“The feminine mystique, elevated by Freudian theory into a scientific religion, sounded a single, overprotective, life-restricting, future-denying note for women. Girls who grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-feminine-mystique-elevated-by-freudian-theory-into-a-scientific/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [The function of the flashback is Freudian...You have to let them wander like the imagination or like a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-leone/the-function-of-the-flashback-is-freudian-you-have-to-let-them-wander/) [Sergio Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-leone/) > [“As a Freudian, I'm not supposed to use words like evil; my business is with instinct, memory, and desire. Nevertheless, I've been wondering, lately,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-la-farge/as-a-freudian-i-m-not-supposed-to-use-words-like-evil-my-business-is/) [Paul La Farge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-la-farge/) > [“We will therefore turn to the less ambitious question of what men themselves show by their behavior to be the purpose and intention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-will-therefore-turn-to-the-less-ambitious-question-of-what-men/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I thought foolishly that Freudian psychoanalysis was deeper and more intensive than other, more directive forms of therapy, so I was trained in it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/i-thought-foolishly-that-freudian-psychoanalysis-was-deeper-and-more/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [In our post-Freudian world, it is no longer a goal to become people of character who live out a God-ordained ideal of selfhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/in-our-post-freudian-world-it-is-no-longer-a-goal-to-become-people-of/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [“It’s so easy to lose faith and become lost in all of the politics of the world. That’s why we need the arts. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/it-s-so-easy-to-lose-faith-and-become-lost-in-all-of-the-politics-of/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) ## More by Claes Oldenburg > [I had no idea what art was. There was one art class in high school, but it didn't make a big impression on me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-had-no-idea-what-art-was-there-was-one-art-class-in-high-school-but/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I am an immigrant in a sense. What happened was that my father was stationed in New York when my mother became pregnant, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-an-immigrant-in-a-sense-what-happened-was-that-my-father-was/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [My mother warned me to avoid things colored red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/my-mother-warned-me-to-avoid-things-colored-red/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I started to draw buildings. I called them Proposed Colossal Monuments - they weren't for real, not for actual building. It was more a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-started-to-draw-buildings-i-called-them-proposed-colossal-monuments/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [Food is like clay; you can sculpt with it. Also it has an odor, and you can eat it. I don't eat a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/food-is-like-clay-you-can-sculpt-with-it-also-it-has-an-odor-and-you/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I am for an art that tells you the time of day, or where such and such a street is. I am for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-for-an-art-that-tells-you-the-time-of-day-or-where-such-and-such/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I knew I wasn't that good a writer, and all I could remember was that I could draw. I'm better at drawing than I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-knew-i-wasn-t-that-good-a-writer-and-all-i-could-remember-was-that/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [“I am for an art that imitates the human, that is comic, if necessary, or violent, or whatever is necessary. I am for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-am-for-an-art-that-imitates-the-human-that-is-comic-if-necessary-or/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [The art world was very small and the people got together at parties. There was less commercialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/the-art-world-was-very-small-and-the-people-got-together-at-parties/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [A life cycle can be imposed on an object. An object can be very energetic and active, and then it has a dying phase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/a-life-cycle-can-be-imposed-on-an-object-an-object-can-be-very/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I don't do abstract art because I don't find it as interesting as I do subjects and depictions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-don-t-do-abstract-art-because-i-don-t-find-it-as-interesting-as-i/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [Actually, New York is great for playing around. I made a lot of studies for New York-a big vacuum cleaner lying on the Battery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/actually-new-york-is-great-for-playing-around-i-made-a-lot-of-studies/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [I'm always careful to say that I changed everything I found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/i-m-always-careful-to-say-that-i-changed-everything-i-found/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [If you really want to be an artist, you search yourself, and you find a lot of it comes from earlier times. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/if-you-really-want-to-be-an-artist-you-search-yourself-and-you-find-a/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) > [ My work doesn't have the same rules as, say, Andy \[Warhol\]'s work. But it's gathered together for the simple reason that we all worked… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/my-work-doesn-t-have-the-same-rules-as-say-andy-warhol-s-work-but-it/) [Claes Oldenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) [Explore all 64 Claes Oldenburg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/) ## More Freudian quotes > [“It’s so easy to lose faith and become lost in all of the politics of the world. That’s why we need the arts. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/it-s-so-easy-to-lose-faith-and-become-lost-in-all-of-the-politics-of/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [In our post-Freudian world, it is no longer a goal to become people of character who live out a God-ordained ideal of selfhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/in-our-post-freudian-world-it-is-no-longer-a-goal-to-become-people-of/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [I thought foolishly that Freudian psychoanalysis was deeper and more intensive than other, more directive forms of therapy, so I was trained in it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/i-thought-foolishly-that-freudian-psychoanalysis-was-deeper-and-more/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [“We will therefore turn to the less ambitious question of what men themselves show by their behavior to be the purpose and intention of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-will-therefore-turn-to-the-less-ambitious-question-of-what-men/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“As a Freudian, I'm not supposed to use words like evil; my business is with instinct, memory, and desire. Nevertheless, I've been wondering, lately,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-la-farge/as-a-freudian-i-m-not-supposed-to-use-words-like-evil-my-business-is/) [Paul La Farge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-la-farge/) > [The function of the flashback is Freudian...You have to let them wander like the imagination or like a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-leone/the-function-of-the-flashback-is-freudian-you-have-to-let-them-wander/) [Sergio Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-leone/) > [“The feminine mystique, elevated by Freudian theory into a scientific religion, sounded a single, overprotective, life-restricting, future-denying note for women. Girls who grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-friedan/the-feminine-mystique-elevated-by-freudian-theory-into-a-scientific/) [Betty Friedan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-friedan/) > [“My whole life I’d lived off the one wretched ambition that still possessed me: to be more than I was; to reject and despise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mela-hartwig/my-whole-life-i-d-lived-off-the-one-wretched-ambition-that-still/) Mela Hartwig > [Apparently, as a kid, I used to eat spiders. Maybe there's some Freudian significance behind that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-smith/apparently-as-a-kid-i-used-to-eat-spiders-maybe-there-s-some-freudian/) [Matt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-smith/) > [Our culture is so inundated with Freudian prototypes, and I think that 'Twin Peaks' came up with a whole new Pandora's Box of outlandishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carel-struycken/our-culture-is-so-inundated-with-freudian-prototypes-and-i-think-that/) [Carel Struycken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carel-struycken/) > [“In the 1890s, when Freud was in the dawn of his career, he was struck by how many of his female patients were revealing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lundy-bancroft/in-the-1890s-when-freud-was-in-the-dawn-of-his-career-he-was-struck/) [Lundy Bancroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lundy-bancroft/) > [“The English language is shot through with idioms and expressions which allude to violence without inciting it, most of which pass without notice unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-nunberg/the-english-language-is-shot-through-with-idioms-and-expressions/) [Geoffrey Nunberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-nunberg/) > [Freudian psychoanalytical theory is a mythology that answers pretty well to Levi-Strauss's descriptions. It brings some kind of order into incoherence; it, too, hangs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-medawar/freudian-psychoanalytical-theory-is-a-mythology-that-answers-pretty/) [Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-medawar/) > [I was in analysis. I was suicidal. As a matter of fact, I would have killed myself, but I was in analysis with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-was-in-analysis-i-was-suicidal-as-a-matter-of-fact-i-would-have/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Families are endlessly fascinating. We all have one, and they have a great impact on who we are and what we do - Freudian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-minot/families-are-endlessly-fascinating-we-all-have-one-and-they-have-a/) [Susan Minot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-minot/) [Browse all 34 Freudian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freudian/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can take an object and simply put anything you want in that object, and I accessed that partly through Freudian ideas.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Claes Oldenburg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/you-can-take-an-object-and-simply-put-anything-you-want-in-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Freudian" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/you-can-take-an-object-and-simply-put-anything-you-want-in-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/claes-oldenburg-10596_freudian_you-can-take-an-object-and-simply-put-an_1649144.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/claes-oldenburg-10596_freudian_you-can-take-an-object-and-simply-put-an_1649144.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/claes-oldenburg-10596_freudian_you-can-take-an-object-and-simply-put-an_1649144.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can take an object and simply put anything you want in that object, and I accessed that partly through…” — Claes Oldenburg", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Claes Oldenburg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claes-oldenburg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can take an object and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/you-can-take-an-object-and-simply-put-anything-you-want-in-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claes-oldenburg/you-can-take-an-object-and-simply-put-anything-you-want-in-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```