Robert Rauschenberg, one of the American artists who made
significant changes in art during the 1950 transition from Abstract
Expressionism to Pop Art, died on Monday night at his home on Captiva Island,
Fla., at the age of 82.
According to his New York gallery, PaceWildenstein, the
cause of his death was heart failure.
A painter, printmaker, choreographer, sculptor,
photographer, onstage performer, set designer and even composer, Mr.
Rauschenberg encouraged the idea that an artist should not only stick to one
environment or style. If one has a mind as creative as Rauschenberg’s, he cannot
be confined to only one domain.
With Rauschenberg, the lines between painting, sculpture,
technology, printmaking, dancing and photography become really thin, almost
invisible.
The prolific artist struggled to make people see that even
junk on the street could be made a work of art. Not any kind of work of art,
but a beautiful one. The idea of art made of junk was not new in Rauschenberg’s
time, but no other artist made it seem beautiful.
“I really feel sorry for people who think things like soap
dishes or mirrors or Coke bottles are ugly,” Rauschenberg once said, “because
they’re surrounded by things like that all day long, and it must make them
miserable.”
Rauschenberg’s most famous creations are his “Combines,”
which were giant collages of interesting objects he found and could be considered
both paintings and sculptures. The artist began making them in 1954 and they soon
became his signature works.
His several Combines included various strange elements such
as a stuffed goat, a stuffed eagle, wheels, working clocks, a bed and lots of
paint. They were very influential and are now considered the roots of
installation art.
In 1964, Rauschenberg was the first American artist to win the
Grand Prize at the Venice Biennale, an important contemporary art exhibition that
takes place once every two years (in odd years) in Italy.
In 1970, the artist established a permanent residence and studio
in Captiva, Florida, where he lived and worked until the end of his life.
