Cleveland, Ohio is home to many monuments that are inherently linked to the identity of the city, and the “Free Stamp” has become similarly tied to the region. The massive, nearly 50-foot red stamp with the word “free” printed on the bottom has a history that is directly related to some other notable monuments and buildings in Cleveland, but it has also developed a unique identity that has allowed it to attract audiences from across the city and beyond.
From the Sohio Building to Willard Park
As a way to celebrate the opening of the 45-floor Sohio Building in downtown Cleveland in 1985, the company commissioned husband and wife sculptors Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen to design the world’s largest rubber stamp. The word “free” was chosen because the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument of Cleveland was located directly across the street from the Sohio Building, which honors soldiers from the Civil War and freedom from slavery.
However, not long after the piece was commissioned, Sohio was taken over by British Petroleum (BP). The new leaders of the company had a different interpretation of the word “free” on the stamp, which prevented the piece from ever being installed on the property. Despite being complete and ready to install, the piece went into storage.
After many years of discussions and arguments about where the piece would be located, BP America finally decided that it would donate the piece as a gift to the City and offered to maintain it in its new location. “Free Stamp” was installed at Cleveland’s Willard Park in 1991, just a few blocks away from its original proposed location.
Since being installed, many have come to see the piece as an inspiring work of Pop Art that positively reflects the ideals of the city and nation, while others have interpreted it in a far less positive manner. These reactions are just part of the reason that it has been able to become a true icon for Cleveland.
An Icon of Cleveland
While the artist has said that the stamp’s message, “Free,” referred to the emancipation of American slaves during and after the Civil War, the fact that so many others have interpreted it differently is one of the key elements of the piece. Sometimes these interpretations are negative, as illustrated by those that believed the message conveyed jokes about the condition of Downtown Cleveland, which during the 1980s was in need of revitalization. The strength of the piece ultimately lies in these numerous interpretations that compel audiences from all over the city and nation to draw their own meaning from it.
These numerous interpretations have enabled it to become an attraction that gets people to pose for pictures with and in front of the piece, and in some cases, interact even more directly with it. “Free Stamp” has pulled in audiences from all over that would have been otherwise unlikely to visit Willard Park or known about its history as the home of the original Cleveland Fire Fighters Memorial.
This popularity has enabled “Free Stamp” to become a point of interest on multiple maps of the city as well as being listed in numerous public art directories that focus on Ohio and public art in general. These depictions and illustrations underscore how it has become more than just a piece of public art and has become inherently tied to the past and future of Cleveland.
More than the “World’s Largest Stamp”
While “world’s largest” attractions of all types have been designed to draw in audiences from near and far, “Free Stamp” is more than this type of novelty. By being directly linked to other notable monuments in Cleveland, the piece represents the city in an especially profound way while also inviting audiences to come up with their own interpretations. Doing so has created a monument that continues to impact the culture and economy of the area in positive ways.
