Artist Robert Rauschenberg
American master artist Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) died on Monday May 12 at the age of 82. Rauschenberg is perhaps best known for his mixed media assemblages from the 1950s that he called combines, because the artist utilized two- and three-dimensional objects and combined them to create his artwork. In this way, Rauschenberg has influenced every assemblage artist who has come since.
Robert Rauschenberg is also known for his printmaking and painting, artwork that was championed by Henry Geldzahler, a famous curator for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Rauschenberg was fortunate enough to live in New York City during the 50s, 60s and 70s at the height of the Modern Art and Pop Art era. The artist was friends with other artists who included Jasper Johns, John Cage, Willem de Kooning and Cy Twombly.
What Kind of Art?
In the context of art history, Rauschenberg will be remembered as an important bridge between Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art, mostly in that his work contained elements of both worlds. Take Monogram for instance. Created from 1954-1959 this piece of art scared the daylights out of me when I first saw it as a young person in art school. It is a startlingly life-like looking angora goat in a tire, standing on an expressionistically painted canvas. There are bits of cut up letters on the canvas and a seeming determination to have his work look like organized chaos. Perhaps all art is about unifying disparate elements to form a pleasing, but not necessarily attractive finished product.
Rauschenberg Gave Back
As a wealthy and successful art star, Robert Rauschenberg was also a creative philanthropist, particularly in his adopted home state of Florida. The artist worked cooperatively with the University of South Florida to help it build a reputable Fine Arts program. Also beneficiaries of the artists generosity were a small art gallery at Edison College in Fort Myers, as well as Lee County Floridas public service programs for domestic and sexual abuse. Theres also an AIDS treatment center in Fort Myers named the Bob Rauschenberg Center for Living. Perhaps most touching, Robert Rauschenberg bought up the houses of his elderly neighbors in Captiva Island Florida and allowed them to live rent free. RIP, Bob.
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