No one could accuse artist Robert Rauschenberg of being out of
touch with American life. Viewing Rauschenberg’s 70 pieces
currently on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art is at times
like stepping into the 1950s, with the exhibit’s liberal use
of newspapers, neckties, Coca-Cola bottles, baseballs and even
pin-up girls cut from magazines.
Yet to solely label these pieces as retro would be a mistake.
Though most were composed nearly 50 years ago, they remain
strikingly innovative and very modern.
The pieces are “combines,” which is both the name of
the exhibit and Rauschenberg’s title for the genre he has
developed. To make them, Rauschenberg adopts a unique mixed media
process, updating the basic collage format by including a third
dimension, thus creating a combination of painting and
sculpture.
Although each work on display falls into the category of a
combine, Rauschenberg continually explores and reconceptualizes the
genre.
He designed “Minutiae” (1954) as a stage set for a
modern dance performance. The work deftly unites diverse textures
and various mediums, such as wood, paint, fabric and metal, and
strongly projects its three-dimensionality.
Other works appear to be predominantly two-dimensional collages,
but aren’t. “Satellite” (1955) seems
two-dimensional until viewers’ eyes reach a stuffed pheasant
resting on the top of the work.
“Monogram” (1955-1959) revolves around a stuffed
Angora goat that Rauschenberg bought for $15 at a second-hand shop.
He later painted the face to mask scratches and imperfections,
added a rubber tire to the goat’s neck, and eventually placed
the goat on a separate collaged platform.
Rauschenberg’s innovation is remarkable. How many of his
colleagues would actually consider adding a sock and parachute to
their canvas, as he does in “Untitled” (1955)?
But what’s really impressive is the way Rauschenberg
seamlessly integrates a large number of elements (sometimes over 10
in one combine) to work effectively as a unit. From a distance,
many of the household items he includes just appear to be textural
variations ““ only a closer look exposes their true forms.
The combines also reveal Rauschenberg to be a master of
balance.
His “Winter Pool” (1959) consists of two canvases of
different widths but the same height, hung flat on the wall with a
wooden ladder bridging the space between them. It sounds
unconventional, but seeing it makes you realize that it just
works.
Rauschenberg’s work is often strongest when it sticks to
themes. “Small Rebus” (1956) conveys a kinetic motif of
athleticism, featuring newspaper photos of acrobats, horses and a
matador, divided by a central band of commercial paint chips and
frenzied dashes of paint that link the motion captured in each
photo to the work as a whole.
Also evident in “Small Rebus” is an additional theme
that Rauschenberg explores in several Combines ““ joining the
old with the new. Near the newspaper photo of a matador is a small
reprint of Titian’s “The Rape of Europa.”
By incorporating past paintings into his works, Rauschenberg
asserts himself as a rightful heir to the art masters.
While the “Combines” exhibit is unlikely to convert
those who have a distaste for modern art to begin with, it offers a
fascinating look into the unique creative process of Robert
Rauschenberg, and the subtle development of abstract expressionism
(think Jackson Pollock or Willem de Kooning) into pop art.
““ Natalie Tate
E-mail Tate at ntate@media.ucla.edu.