Robert Rauschenberg Overview

The pioneer of American Pop art began using mass-media images in his work in the mid-1950s. His use of appropriated newspaper and magazine images and found objects is central to his aesthetic theory: "Painting relates to both art and life. Neither... [more]

The pioneer of American Pop art began using mass-media images in his work in the mid-1950s. His use of appropriated newspaper and magazine images and found objects is central to his aesthetic theory: "Painting relates to both art and life. Neither can be made. I try to act in that gap between the two. A pair of socks is no less suitable to make a painting with than wood, nails, turpentine, oil, and fabric." After studying at Black Mountain College, and later with Robert Motherwell, Rauschenberg came to artistic maturity as an Abstract Expressionist. He had his first solo exhibit in 1951 at Betty Parsons's Gallery, where he showed his "All-White Paintings" and "All-Black Paintings." In the early 1950s he collaborated with his mentor John Cage and created Happenings along with Merce Cunningham and David Tudor. Cage also believed in the marriage of art and life, and his influence led Rauschenberg to his "Combined Paintings," which combined painted elements with found objects. One example of this style is "Monogram" (1955-1959) -- the mixed-media painting is comprised of a wooden platform painted with bright swatches of color and "monogrammed" by a stuffed goat with a tire around its body. In the 1960s, he began using the commercial medium of photoscreen. Rauschenberg would screen in art reproductions, images from newspapers, and anonymous photographs of city scenes. "Estate" (1963) is a color photoscreen collage that uses familiar images such as the Statue of Liberty and Michelangelo's "Last Judgement" in combination with abstract shapes, city photos, and color patches. While the images are tilted and turned sideways, all pieces retain their individuality (unlike Dadaist collage). Since 1984, he's headed the Rauschenberg Overseas Cultural Exchange, which supports cooperation of artists around the globe. [show less]