Comments on: World’s Largest Saw [Updated]

By: Ash

Ash — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:54:37 +0000

Claes Oldenburg also made an “Inverted Q” representing the rubber industry in Akron, OH, and is on display in the Akron Art Museum. He also made the infamous “Free Stamp” which is on display in downtown Cleveland, OH.

If you do a search for Inverted Q, you will most likely only find results for the soft one. The Akron Art Museum has the hard one, made out of concrete.

By: Shawn N

Shawn N — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:44:55 +0000

Rob-
Even with the size of your friend in Munich, I think the scale would still be off. Plus, he is probably as far as possible from his saw as possible.
Cool find, though.

By: Ron Vogel

Ron Vogel — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:14:05 +0000

And, with a few more minutes of internet research, I see someone has done much of the work already:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=236498&t=k&om=1

By: Ron Vogel

Ron Vogel — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:58:52 +0000

First thing I thought of was that this is another Claes Oldenburg installation. And, it appears that it is:

http://www.oldenburgvanbruggen.com/sawsawing.htm

I believe other Oldenburgs have been featured on this site before. Someday when I have a little more time , I’ll try and locate as many of his sculptures as I can - it would be worth gathering.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:29:56 +0000

@Jel - I didn’t say “beautiful” for a reason. If a Japanese saw were shown sticking out the ground in the same manner as this one, it would look more like a pole sticking out the ground than anything else. Japanese saws look very nice, but the handle of this giant saw is starkly different from the Japanese saw, which presumably everyone in Tokyo would be familiar with. This one isn’t as familiar, one might guess, since it’s not a traditional Japanese saw. So it’s more a question of being daring and different and presenting to the public an unfamiliar object in a familiar setting than a question of what’s prettier.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:21:30 +0000

This bloke is trying to find it:

Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

By: Jel

Jel — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:21:14 +0000

What do you mean, more aesthetically obvious, Dan? Do you own a Japanese saw? If you did, you’d know they even attempt to make the handles traditionally beautiful, according to their own standards. The cut, though, is unbelievable by anyone’s standards - a fraction of the effort and waste.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:05:03 +0000

Well, it’s kind of more aesthetically obvious than the Japanese one, I guess. And plusalso, since it’s in Japan, it’s something the locals don’t see very often, even in regular size.