Robert Rauschenberg

Rauschenberg is my favorite modern artist and perhaps my favorite artist of all time. I rank him as a genius equal to the likes of Michelangelo and Picasso. He invented his own form of art, which he called "combines," using nontraditional materials and objects (from a stuffed ram to bicycles). This new form came about partly through his rejection of the angst and seriousness often tied to abstract art, another reason to like the man--he was playful. He experimented in every form of modern art, from painting, printing, paper-making, to sculpture and even performance art.One of Rauschenberg's first and most famous pieces, entitled "Monogram." Materials: stuffed angora goat, tire, police barrier, heel of a shoe, tennis ball, and paint.
Canyon, 1959.Untitled Combine, 1963.


His work, along with many other of his fellow artists from the same period, make me desire to attend the legendary Black Mountain College.