{"id":13650,"date":"2016-12-09T09:53:10","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T08:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/?p=13650"},"modified":"2016-12-13T16:32:20","modified_gmt":"2016-12-13T15:32:20","slug":"who-is-the-most-influential-visual-artist-of-the-late-twentieth-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/2016\/12\/09\/who-is-the-most-influential-visual-artist-of-the-late-twentieth-century\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is the most influential visual artist of the late twentieth century?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-13650 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/2016\/12\/09\/who-is-the-most-influential-visual-artist-of-the-late-twentieth-century\/untitled-spread-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"114\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/CFA-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Untitled-Spread-1-480x366.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-13667\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-13667'>\n\t\t\t\tRobert Rauschenberg, Untitled (Spread), 1983; solvent transfer, acrylic and collage on wood panel, with umbrellas, 188.6 x 245.7 x 88.9 cm. Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/2016\/12\/09\/who-is-the-most-influential-visual-artist-of-the-late-twentieth-century\/stop-side-early-winter-glut\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"113\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/CFA-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Stop-Side-Early-Winter-Glut-1-361x480.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-13665\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-13665'>\n\t\t\t\tRobert Rauschenberg, Stop Side Early Winter Glut, 1987. Metal signs and objects 109.9 x 116.8 x 86.4 cm Museum of Modern Art, New York Gift of Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and Marie-Josee and Henry R.Kravis \u00a9 2016. Digital image, The Museum of Modern Art, New York\/Scala, Florence.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/2016\/12\/09\/who-is-the-most-influential-visual-artist-of-the-late-twentieth-century\/nmsk1963-r-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/CFA-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/NMSK1963-R-2-1-480x480.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-13661\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-13661'>\n\t\t\t\tRobert Rauschenberg, Monogram, 1955-59; combine: oil, paper, fabric, printed paper, printed reproductions, metal, wood, rubber shoe heel, and tennis ball on canvas with oil and rubber tire on Angora goat on wood platform mounted on four casters, 106.7 x 160.7 x 163.8 cm. Moderna Museet, Stockholm. Purchase 1965 with contribution from Moderna Museets V\u00e4nner\/The Friends of Moderna Museet. \n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/2016\/12\/09\/who-is-the-most-influential-visual-artist-of-the-late-twentieth-century\/rauschenberg-bed-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"65\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/CFA-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Rauschenberg-Bed-1-209x480.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-13663\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-13663'>\n\t\t\t\tRobert Rauschenberg, Bed, 1955; combine painting: oil and pencil on pillow, quilt, and sheet on wood supports, 191.1 x 80 x 20.3 cm. Museum of Modern Art, New York, Gift of Leo Castelli in honour of Aldred H. Barr, Jr. Image: The Museum of Modern Art, New York\/Scala, Florence.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/2016\/12\/09\/who-is-the-most-influential-visual-artist-of-the-late-twentieth-century\/rauschenberg-retroactive-ii-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"106\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/CFA-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Rauschenberg-Retroactive-ii-1-340x480.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-13664\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-13664'>\n\t\t\t\tRobert Rauschenberg, Retroactive II, 1963; oil, silkscreen and ink on canvas 80 x 60 in. Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, partial gift  of Stefan T. Edlis and H. Gael Neeson,1998.49. Photo: Nathan Keay \u00a9 MCA Chicago.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/2016\/12\/09\/who-is-the-most-influential-visual-artist-of-the-late-twentieth-century\/triathlon-scenario-2\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"107\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/CFA-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Triathlon-Scenario-1-480x341.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-13666\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-13666'>\n\t\t\t\tRobert Rauschenberg, Triathlon (Scenario), 2005; inkjet pigment transfer on polylaminate, 217.2 x 306.1 cm. Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Untitled (double Rauschenberg), ca. 1950. Robert Rauschenberg and Susan Weil Monoprint: exposed blueprint paper 209.6 x 92.1 cm. Private collection.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/2016\/12\/09\/who-is-the-most-influential-visual-artist-of-the-late-twentieth-century\/peter-moore-pelican\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/CFA-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Peter-Moore-Pelican-480x320.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-13659\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n\t\t\t\t<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-13659'>\n\t\t\t\tRobert Rauschenberg, Pelican, 1963,\nfirst performed at Concert of Dance no. 5, an evening of performances by Judson Dance Theater, \nPop Festival, Washington D.C., 9 May 1963, and then a\nt the First New York Theatre Rally, former \nCBS studio, Broadway and Eighty-first Street, New York, May 19\n65. Photo: Peter Moore \nThe Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, New York \u00a9 Barbara Moore.\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>By design or coincidence, in London right now you can visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tate.org.uk\/whats-on\/tate-modern\/exhibition\/robert-rauschenberg\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Robert Rauschenberg<\/strong><\/a>, Tate Modern\u2019s first Autumn show of 2016, and the acclaimed but in some quarters controversial <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royalacademy.org.uk\/exhibition\/abstract-expressionism\" target=\"_blank\">Abstract Expressionism<\/a><\/strong> exhibition at the Royal Academy (for example, where are the women?). Both shows will attract sizeable crowds of visitors and the Ab Ex survey provides the cutting edge backdrop, in painting at least, that Rauschenberg reacted to by appropriating the brushstroke and reintroducing non-abstract imagery.<\/p>\n<p>The scope of Rauschenberg\u2019s exploration of fine art as a broad discipline and an attitude to living in, and responding to, the modern era reveals the fact that he was not a painter or a sculptor per se. He was also, at various times, a performer and a printmaker. But, crucially, he was also a collaborator, denying the notion of the individualistic, sometimes existentially challenged soul of the archetypal modern artist. He also had a positive and creative attitude to developing machine and electronic technologies &#8211; right up to the advent of digital printing in the early 2000s. He was a maker.<\/p>\n<p>From the first room in the show (Experimentation), a suitably piecemeal and varied collection of works (including the literally iconoclastic, \u2018Erased De Kooning Drawing\u2019 of 1953) to Room 11 (Late Works), we were treated to the full gamut of Rauschenberg\u2019s project to explore life, culture and art as one interrelated phenomenon. In between were selections of the artist\u2019s career defining Combines, Transfer Drawings, Silkscreens, Performance videos and Metal sculptures. Despite the Aladdin\u2019s Cave resonances of the Tate presentation, there is nothing that looks out of place, as the multiplicity of forms and images adds up to the whole Rauschenberg experience that we anticipated.<\/p>\n<p>The special, and expected, treats included \u2018Monogram\u2019 [1955-59]; \u2018Bed\u2019 [1955]; \u2018Retroactive I\u2019 and \u2018II\u2019 [1963 and 64]; \u2018Estate\u2019 [1963]; and \u2018Winter Pool\u2019 [1959]. For the Baby Boomer contingent attending the show, these works will satisfy expectations, as the works are part of the well-known and disparate imagery of the Pop era. For example, we will all recognise the inverted John F. Kennedy image with the disembodied hand gesturing pointedly. In addition to the \u2018Retroactive\u2019 screen printed canvases, \u2018Buffalo II\u2019 and \u2018Press\u2019 (both 1964), reinforces the iconic status of this news media photograph (taken from a debate with Richard Nixon) in the collective unconscious of all who yearn for a less inward looking U.S.A. that the incoming president elect appears to represent. How a younger, X, Y or Z Generation will react will be interesting &#8211; especially for those inclined to make or collect contemporary art. In fact the spirit of Pop Art might, somewhat surprisingly, permeate much of what is new today. Andy Warhol has become the undisputed King of Pop, but a more object-orientated and cross-media Rauschenberg influence might already be detected in the more avant-garde wing of contemporary art that has emerged over the last two decades.<\/p>\n<p>Following this line of thought leads to considering a great variety of indirect influences on the work of many of today\u2019s Young(ish) Turks. There are very many more than this perfunctory list, but <strong>Isa Genzken<\/strong>, <strong>Karla Black<\/strong>, <strong>Adriano Costa<\/strong>, <strong>Park McArthur<\/strong>, <strong>Jared Madere<\/strong>, <strong>Dennis Loesch<\/strong>, <strong>Konrad Wyrebek<\/strong>, <strong>Urban Zellweger<\/strong>, <strong>Tris Vonna-Michell<\/strong>, and Turner Prize winner, <strong>Helen Marten<\/strong>, might spring to mind. They all subtly or forcefully break the rules of expectation, when they obey the Golden Rule to transform anything that smacks of expectation. In their own ways, they expand boundaries and merge art with life (especially incorporating the technological materialism that pervades daily existence) as if division was absurd. Rauschenberg is a mentor of sorts.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, whilst the spirit of Rauschenberg\u2019s approach to the creative process was always open to chance, change and the various contexts of contemporary life, where everything is a manner of performance, he was not averse to influences from the past. Possibly less well known to a British audience (unless they visited the Tate Gallery show back in 1981, or have visited MOMA in New York) are Rauschenberg\u2019s illustrations to Dante\u2019s Inferno, from his <strong>Divine Comedy<\/strong>. By incorporating photographic images (found and selected) from various magazines, a series of ink transfer drawings from 1958-1960, was given significant wall space. The collage-like and oblique references to a classic text, demonstrates that material from the distant past is available to be unearthed and revealed at appropriate times.<\/p>\n<p>Rauschenberg was always drawn to a narrative of some kind, whether it was appropriated or generated by presenting re-formulated imagery or objects. \u2018Monogram\u2019, loaned by the Tate from Moderna Museet, Stockholm, reminded us that whatever <strong>Damien Hirst<\/strong> could conjure from the animal kingdom, Rauschenberg preempted him. Likewise with his well-known \u2018Bed\u2019, it is an interesting precursor of <strong>Tracey Emin<\/strong>\u2019s, \u2018My Bed\u2019 [1998], although the link may be superficial. But what is not so circumstantial is the example of a dynamic spirit of the age attitude that is embodied in Rauschenberg\u2019s consistently developing practice &#8211; and is echoed today as art continues to evolve and challenge expectations. He was characteristically open to experimentation, cross-disciplinary engagement, and rule breaking to engineer visual surprise. For example, what is it about those various cardboard box sculptures\/paintings, including \u2018Volon (Cardboard)\u2019 [1971], and \u2018Untitled (Cardboard)\u2019 [1972], that proves that ordinary, everyday \u2018stuff\u2019 can be transformed by simple re-presentation? This transformative process produces results that challenge the viewer to engage with their own visual intelligence &#8211; as well as to enliven the gallery space &#8211; as we see, for example in <strong>Adriano Costa<\/strong> or <strong>Helen Marten<\/strong>\u2019s work.<\/p>\n<p>So, here was the surprise that we felt foolish not to have anticipated: Robert Rauschenberg remains an artist of today. Much of his work would not look out of place if presented in the Tate\u2019s \u2018Art Now\u2019 series of exhibitions that presents new work by emerging artists. In this respect, we imagined that the \u2018Jammer\u2019 series [1975-6] &#8211; several of which were exhibited at <strong>Gagosian<\/strong> here in London just over three years ago &#8211; could still offer an aura of contemporaneous engagement. Indeed, these textiles and object sculptures look like they could have been made in an east London studio just last month.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, a particularly outstanding and seductive surprise included, \u2018Glacier (Hoarfrost)\u2019 [1974], which could be a precursor to <strong>Karla Black<\/strong>\u2019s engagement with the almost weightless qualities of materials. Also, \u2018Albino Spring Glut (Neapolitan)\u2019 and \u2018Balcone (Neapolitan)\u2019, both constructed from metal parts sourced from Naples for a <strong>Trisha Brown<\/strong> performance there in 1987, exuded an aura of recently appropriated freshness &#8211; which we agreed was an inexplicably subjective response to the found qualities of otherwise abject materials and distorted forms. Towards the end of the show, the astonishing and alchemical, \u2018Mud Muse\u2019 [1968-71], a sound activated bed of Bentonite clay, stressed the strangely performative nature of materials. With humour and physics combined, Rauschenberg seems to have posed the question: What do you make of this?<\/p>\n<p>Although Robert Rauschenberg is a one-man retrospective show, (with due references to associates and collaborators, including <strong>John Cage<\/strong>, <strong>Cy Twombly<\/strong>, <strong>Merce Cunningham<\/strong>,<strong> Trisha Brown<\/strong> and the Experiments in Art and Technology foundation) Rauschenberg\u2019s invisible peer for this show is Andy Warhol. A compelling essay in the catalogue by Richard Meyer, links the two most influential artists of their generation by identifying a shared interest in silkscreen printing and the use of the mass media image &#8211; especially on canvas. The tradition of demonstratively extolling dexterous painting skills, with expressive intent and a closed-loop of references in the case of many of the Abstract Expressionists, as being wholly sufficient is put into question and developed latterly by artists such as <strong>Dennis Loesch<\/strong> and <strong>Konrad Wyrebek<\/strong> who incorporate digital technologies. Yet this ironically polemic stance may yet invigorate painting &#8211; just as Rauschenberg, in a much broader way, energises the possibilities of this phenomenon we call \u2018art\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Warhol has become the popular household name of course, but we wondered if Rauschenberg\u2019s influence on successive generations has been more prevalent and will last longer? An essentially visual and object-orientated manifestation of post-Dada art was gloriously manifested in Rauschenberg\u2019s multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary art practice throughout his long career. Today we see that this ongoing questioning and rejection of purist painting or sculptural art forms remains essential for many contemporary practitioners. Which raises the question: Superseding <strong>Marcel Duchamp<\/strong> &#8211; is Robert Rauschenberg the most influential visual artist of the late twentieth century? Time will tell.<\/p>\n<p>Note:<br \/>\nGalerie Thaddaeus Ropac are currently presenting \u2018Salvage\u2019, the first solo exhibition of American artist Robert Rauschenberg at their Paris Marais gallery, until 14 January, 2017. (In Spring 2017, a new gallery will open in London, Mayfair, at Ely House.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By design or coincidence, in London right now you can visit Robert Rauschenberg, Tate Modern\u2019s first Autumn show of 2016, and the acclaimed but in some quarters controversial Abstract Expressionism [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13659,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1796],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mapping-the-artscape"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conceptualfinearts.com\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}