Throughout his career, the American Pop artist Robert Rauschenberg has
consistently challenged the prevailing ideologies and techniques of the
art world, and can even be said to have changed the course of art
history. In the 1950s, Rauschenberg redefined the very materials that
art could be made of, rebelling against the predominant Abstract
Expressionism of the time with the impeccable logic that, "I think a
painting is more like the real world if it's made out of the real
world." His boldness in pushing technical and aesthetic frontiers as
well as his influential dissemination of photography, film, and
television in his own work altered both painting and art at large.
Rauschenberg's seminal works--from his Combines (urban trash on painted
surfaces) to his silk screens--are reproduced here in full color; and
more recent projects--including ROCI, Rauschenberg's own exhibition
organization, which showcases artists from all over the world--are also
highlighted by author Sam Hunter of Princeton University. This essential
volume includes important interviews with the artist by Alain Sayag and
Richard Kostelanetz, as well as a key selection of Rauschenberg's own
writings.
