Robert Rauschenberg

To be honest, before I began reading this chapter in the Reader, I did not immediately connect this artist to his artwork. I knew I had heard the name before nut I could not recall anything else. As I began reading the very first descriptions of Rauschenberg's art, specifically White Painting, Black Painting, and Charlene, I knew that I have seen these pieces before. Recently I visited the MOCA and in one of the exhibits downtown there was an entire room devoted to Rauschenberg. I remember being in that room and making a mental note in my head to remember that name so that I could look up his artwork later. Although the paintings were entirely simple and mostly monochromatic, I was fascinated by their enormity. Some paintings must have been nearly fifteen feet tall. I was drawn towards all of the sculptures by the very materials the woman museum goer in the first paragraphs called "ugly." They did seem arbitrarily put together as she also noted but their randomness evoked meaning that I still do not quite understand.

 
During the reading, Rauschenberg explained asked, "If it was alright to make pictures with bits of pasted paper or metal or wood, then why couldn't you use a bed, or even a goat with a tire?" In terms of the apparent "randomness" I first noticed, this explanation makes perfect sense. There are no designated materials that one must use in creating art, although paper, paint, and pencils are often noted as such.

Rauschenberg's use of everyday and somewhat non-conventional materials relate to his outlook on art and life. He says he believes that "a picture is more like the real world when it is made out of the real world." In this way, his art reflects people's lives in a more clear, distinct, fashion rather than masking it under metaphors and illusionist paintings. In response to the materials being deemed "ugly," Rauschenberg claims he pities those who believe this because they are the very materials that are seen throughout our daily lives. One who considers them to be ugly must live a very unhappy life.

Rauschenberg never intended to be controversial but his piece were always considered in that way. Many of the choices he made were simply because of trying to "cover up a defect" for example the paint on the goat's face in Monogram. Also in Bed he explained that he chose to use a quilt as his canvas because he had nothing else at the time. It was these choices that served to distinguish his work from other artists. Clearly, art whether it be by physical materials or inspiration, reflects and is created from real life.