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On this day in
1830 Albert Bierstadt, American painter of grandiose scenes of the American West, was born.
1899 Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc Paris, composer and pianist, was born
1986 died Juan Rulfo, Mexican novelist, short story writer, and photographer
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Exhibition in Munich: Robert Rauschenberg Travelling '70 - '76
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| Monday, July 14, 2008 |
The exhibition unites a selection of works from the series ’Cardboards,’ ’Venetians,’ ’Early Egyptians,’ ’Hoarfrosts’ and ’Jammers.’ Rauschenberg’s preoccupation with other cultures, as well as experiences from the various journeys he took are reflected in these pieces, which were created between 1970 and 1976. For the first time, these work groups in Rauschenberg’s oeuvre, which have been largely ignored up to now, are receiving the acknowledgement they deserve.
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Moor, 1974 Solvent transfer on fabric and collage 205.7 x 124.5 cm Sonnabend Collection |
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Rauschenberg’s travels in the 1970s took him to Italy, France, Jerusalem and India. The series presented here, which were created on, or immediately after these trips, exhibit exceptional simplicity, liveliness and brilliance, utilizing new materials and techniques. During this period Rauschenberg created works made of cardboard, fabric and found objects. In all five series he addresses the classic problems of painting, such as composition, color and texture, as well as those of sculpture, such as weight, balance and the placement of the object in space, with his typical inventiveness.
The series
Sor Aqua, 1973 Wood, metal, rope, glass jug, and water-filled bathtub 248.9 x 304.8 x 104.1 cm The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Gift of the Caroline Wiess Law Foundation |
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The Cardboards Rauschenberg used only found bits of cardboard in this series created between 1971 and 1972. Rauschenberg was the first artist to use only cardboard for large format assemblage paintings, sculptures and installations without treating it as painterly decor or subjugating it in any way. The ’Cardboards’ tend to be monochromatic.
The Venetians were created during 1972 and 1973 in Captiva after a travel to Venice. For this series, Rauschenberg primarily used mass produced materials and discarded household objects: fabric, rope, wood, leather, stone, electric cable and wire, chairs, vases, pillows, an old bathtub, water and scrap metal. The ’Venetians’ are more sculptural than the earlier ’Cardboards’ and less abstract.
The Early Egyptians The series was created in 1973 and 1974. Cardboard is once again the dominant material, although the way it is treated here is significantly different: The cardboard boxes are not flattened or cut but are almost always used as constructive elements in these large-scale works. Rauschenberg, not without a certain irony, covers the cardboard boxes with glue and then either rolls them in sand or wraps them in gauze, like mummies.
For the Hoarfrosts, executed in 1974 and 1975, Rauschenberg used fabric in place of traditional canvas supports. The title is a reference to Dante’s Inferno, which Rauschenberg had already illustrated in the 1950s with a series of transfer drawings ("Inferno", 1958/60). The technique and content of this series are linked to earlier works. By using a solvent, which allowed images to be transferred onto fabric, the artist created a series of works on transparent or semi-transparent fabric; he transferred images from newspapers onto silk, cotton and chiffon.
The Jammers. In 1975 Rauschenberg worked for a month in an ashram in Ahmedabad, India, a center of textile production. After returning home, he executed a series of works in 1975 and 1976 called the ’Jammers,’ which were true bursts of colors. The fabrics used in these works are rectangular, square and triangular in shape and their colors are clear and intense. They are hung either loose on the walls or are attached to bamboo rods like veils in a state of ethereal equilibrium.
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Untitled (Venetian), 1973 Tire tread and wood 69,9 cm x 228,6 cm x 41,9 cm Collection of the artist © Robert Rauschenberg / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2008 Photograph by Glenn Steigelman |
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Further information
Travelling '70 -'76
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