American artist Robert Rauschenberg passed away from heart failure, at the age of 82, Monday night in Florida. Anyone with a tiny bit of knowledge of art knows that we have all been blessed with his extensive body of work. Few artists moved between mediums in the way Rauschenberg did. Paintings and sculptures became blurred in their distinction - sometimes even with sculptures attached to a canvas or paint covering collected objects on the gallery floor. The art world was at a loss and took to referring to these works as "combines." More than most, the dimensional aspect of his work begged for the viewer to interact with it.
At times it seemed as if there was little he couldn't make art from
Cardboard box? No problem.
Stuffed goat? Got it.
Love affair with Jasper Johns? On it.
He even made art by erasing it when he controversially did so to a Willem de Kooning drawing.
His reach was so great that there are few that he didn't influence along the way.
Most importantly to Cale, he won a Grammy for his album art for the Talking Heads "Speaking in Tongues."
I could go on for days about what was a truly fascinating individual but like any artist worth their salt he is best appreciated by seeing the work itself. The Hirshorn and National Gallery of Art have important pieces from the 50s to the 80s in their collections and I hope they are being displayed currently so you can have the pleasure of seeing them in person.
Thanks for 82 years of challenging work.
God loves a cheerful giver.
The National Gallery had an wonderful exhibit of his prints that closed in March. I vote for a second run.
When I was a mod kid I read about how in art school Pete Townshend was inspired by Rauchenberg, Johns and other Pop/Action artist, which led to all those smashed guitars and drum kits. I started checking and got hooked. especially by Rauchenberg's work bc it was part painting part installation part everything, always rough edged and organic, just like the piece in the above shot.
Though I'm not really a big fan of the original art itself, I still understand that outside of Duchamp, and maybe the Futurists, Raushenburg is easily the most important figure in the transition from modernism to post modernism, his work in the 50's is directly responsible for more than half of the great artists in the 70s and 80s, his ideas about art and the creative process turned the pages between the older ideas of high art, and the movement of independent artists and galleries, and acted as a catalyst for installation art. To Raushenberg the modern art world is greatly indebted.