Creative Life Lived
May 15th, 2008
Robert Rauschenberg, Rebus, 1955
Part of what inspired me to study art history in art school was learning about the art of Rauschenberg, who died this week at the age of 82. There's an excellent article about his life in the New York Times. From that article:
"Screwing things up is a virtue,” he said when he was 74. “Being correct is never the point. I have an almost fanatically correct assistant, and by the time she re-spells my words and corrects my punctuation, I can’t read what I wrote. Being right can stop all the momentum of a very interesting idea."
The way he combined imagery, color, texture and objects spoke to me in a way that I can't quite put in words. He led and amazing life, full of inventiveness and pushing the boundaries. Definitely a great role model for living a life bursting with creativity!
8 Responses
I am not overly familiar with his work, but I know enough to see that he contributed greatly to the world of mixed media art. Rest in peace.
Posted by: Dale | May 15, 2008 at 2:47 pm |
I like his art a lot too. Have you seen the goat with a tire around him? It’s in Stockholm’s modern art museum. Do you know of a book with his yummy art? I’d love to see more, maybe I’ll check the library?! Thanks for the reminder Leah!
Posted by: iHanna | May 15, 2008 at 3:35 pm |
robert rauschenberg was a huge influence on me when i was in art school and continues to be one of my favorite contemporary artist. i was sad to learn he’d passed – what a legacy he’s left behind.
Posted by: kristen | May 15, 2008 at 3:58 pm |
Great post, Leah! I’m not overly familiar with his work but I do like the painting you posted. Indeed, a lot of the art techniques used today were first discovered by artists who experimented creatively outside of the ‘rules’.
Posted by: Serena | May 15, 2008 at 4:39 pm |
Thank you Leah for reminding me about an artist who created outside-the-box and opened the world to a whole new art form. He reminds us to notice what is beautiful around us and to think of art in a much broader persepective. So necessary to budding artists.
Posted by: Rebecca | May 15, 2008 at 5:03 pm |
I’ve never heard of him before – thanks for the link…
Posted by: Caroline | May 15, 2008 at 5:17 pm |
Thanks for posting this – I agree with everyone else who cited him as a positive influence. If you aren’t familiar with him, there’s a great book called The Bride and the Bachelors: Five Masters of the Avant-Garde by Calvin Tomkins. It helps clarify his contributions.
Posted by: Jim | May 15, 2008 at 5:32 pm |
Leah – I am way behind on reading your posts, but just had to throw down for Rauschenberg!
Posted by: bansheegrrll | May 16, 2008 at 5:04 pm |