Bob Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who was born on October 22, 1925 in Port Arthur, Texas. He intended to study pharmacology at the University of Texas, and did briefly, but eventually decided to study art instead. Along with going to school for art, Robert also served in the U.S. Navy during World War 2. From 1946-1947 he studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and Paris (also in 1947.) He also studied with Josef Albers and John Cage at Black Mountain College, North Carolina from 1948-50. Rauschenberg’s first solo exhibition was in 1951, and was held at the Betty Parsons Gallery. Since this first exhibition, his work has been displayed in various big name museum exhibitions. The museums that organized these events will be included down below.

© Robert Rauschenberg, Rectroactivo I. 1964

While Rauschenberg’s journey is interesting, his art tells an entirely different story.  It seems that a lot of artist tend to have a more straight forward approach to their art; Robert is quite the opposite. What I mean by a “straight forward approach” is that most artist tend to paint certain things such as a dog in the rain or a sunset. If we take a look at Rauschenberg’s “combines” (1963) he has a completely different style.  These pieces of work were actually made from trash Rauschenberg found interesting to him. He would walk along the streets in New York and if he found something interesting he would take it back to his studio. Once at the studio he would integrate the trash into his work and really make use of the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”

I have never been one to truly apprec

iate art but Robert’s style really makes me stop and think. I like to wonder where he comes up with the ideas for his pieces, and if he is trying to convey a message that we are all missing. What I see in Rauschenberg’s art is history. Each piece of his art is like its own personal story that references events that have taken place in the past. That is also why I think the quality of his art is strong. His vision and creativity is not one of the average imagination. Robert, in my opinion, soars past the stereotypical artistic style and has found a way to communicate with his followers through a different sort of way.

Websites used for information:

http://www.bobrauschenberggallery.com

http://www.biography.com/people/robert-rauschenberg-9452410

http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/rauschenberg_combines/

His major museum exhibitions include those organized by:  The Jewish Museum, New York (1963); Whitechapel Gallery, London (1964); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (1965); The Museum of Modern Art, New York (1966 and 1969); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (1968); Israel Museum, Jerusalem (1974); National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington, D.C. (1976, touring to 1977); Staatliche Kunsthalle, Berlin (1980), tour included Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark (1980) and Tate Gallery, London (1981); Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (1981); Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France (1984); 41st Venice Biennale (1984); Fundación Juan March, Madrid, and Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona (1985); Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston (1986), touring to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1987); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1990); the Menil Collection, Houston (1991, touring to 1993); Aktionsfourm Praterinsel, Munich (1997); Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Guggenheim Museum Soho, New York (1997), touring to the Menil Collection, Contemporary Arts Museum and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (1998); Museum Ludwig, Cologne (1998); Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (1998 – 1999); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2000); the Baltimore Museum of Art (2000 – 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2002).