Robert Rauschenberg Would Have Been 90 Today

In visiting galleries around the country it's always exciting to discover another Rauschenberg piece that I hadn't seen before. Some of his famous combines, like the bed or the one with the goat and the tire (Monogram), can be found in the MOMA and San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art. But traveling through other galleries over the years one is likely to discover, as I did in Allentown last year, a couple Rauschenberg works. Tuesday at the Minneapolis Institute of Art was no exception. 

When I was an art student in college I found Rauschenberg's work stimulating. A pre-cursor to Pop, which I did not find interesting at the time, I enjoyed seeing what he was doing, noticed articles in ArtForum and took a book out on him from the library. 

It's strange to think of how many of these artists we alive while we were in school, and were one determined one could have tracked him down probably and talked to him or visited his studio. But all most of us did was look in the books and magazines and appreciate the occasional pieces we saw in the museums. 

Thanks to Google, you can see more examples of his work here. And thanks to Bill Shipley there's a signature of his on my wall.

Mr. Rauschenberg passed away in 2008. He would have been 90 today.

Barrel Up, acrylic paint and screen print. 1990