1925- Robert Rauschenberg American painter. One of the 20th Century Painters.
Few artists have had as long and impressive career.
His innovations were based on two principles:
- That literally everything could be incorporated into painterly art
- One part of a picture need not dominate, or even relate to, the others
In 1947, while in the Marines that he discovered his aptitude for drawing. In 1948, on leaving the military he went to Paris to study art at the Academie Julian.
From 1948 to 1952 he studied at Black Mountain College with Josef Albers, John Cage, Merce Cunningham and Willem De Kooning.
In 1949 he moved to New York City, where he studied at the Art Students League of New York.
In 1951 he had his first exhibition at the Leo Castelli gallery.
With Jasper Johns reacted against the high seriousness, solemn introspection and spirituality of Abstract Expressionsism. He often used Combines part painting, part collage. Also favored silk screen and other photographic processes. At this time was set up EAT (Experiments in Art Technology), a non-profit organization.
In the late 1950s, he was incorporating newsprint into his paintings.
Between 1962 and 1964, he used printmaking to make a series of "Silkscreen Paintings". Along this same time period, he began introducing photographs into his work.
In 1964, has one man show at the "Bienniale" in Vienna (aka La Biennale di Venezia and won the competition. First American to do so. This essentially "put him on the international map".
In 1965, he got together with engineer Billy Kluver and planned a show called "Nine Evenings: Theater and Engineering." This was not impressive to the audience, but created a new concept of artists and engineers collaborating in a big way. Jean Tinguely was also part of this project. This was part of the E.A.T. group.
By the 1970's, he moved away from New York to an island off the coast of Florida.
People who were associated with Robert at one time or another include:
Influenced by Dada Movement, Surrealism
His work is included in the permanent collections of:
Related nodes:
Selected Sources:
Rubin, William S., "Dada, Surrealism, and Their Heritage", Museum of Modern Art, NY, 1968.
Tompkins, Calvin, "Off The Wall, Robert Rauschenberg and the Art World of Our Time", Penguin, New York, 1980
Last Updated 03.17.04