Art History Guide

“By the time Robert Rauschenberg completed the first of his Cardboards in 1971, he had already been breaking ground as an artist for twenty years. He first gained international acclaim in 1958 when he exhibited twenty of his Combines at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City.â€?

This is how the programme reads for the retrospective exhibition of ‘Cardboard Combines’ which are on exhibition at The Menil Collection. Cardboards and Related Pieces, at The Menil collection is on view through May 13th; so if you haven’t yet seen this wonderful exhibition then I strongly suggest you go. It was much better for me, as an artist, to forgo looking at the works during the opening hoopla and come back to experience the works on a personal and intimate level. Once you see these works I am certain you will instantly come to know what I mean in regard to a personal and intimate experience with the works.

Robert Rauschenberg
Monogram, 1955-1959

The title of this exhibition is rather simple but to the point I think. Just as the title suggests, the entire exhibition is comprised of Rauschenberg musings- the use of mixed materials- earlier in his career; but the main component being the stuff that we pack and move our possessions within.

Who would have thought of ‘art’ being a carrier to or host of wares?!. As a matter of point to bring up, back in the time when he was producing these works [circa 1971-73] people spoke of him being foolish for working with such a silly material; but he kept going with it.

So my hat tips to Mr. Rauschenberg for showing us how ‘keeping it simple’ can resonate so profoundly. He takes cardboard boxes- the refuse of city life- and turns them into significant works of art. Rauschenberg tears, flattens, bends, and cuts the cardboard [boxes]- even applying charcoal dust and sand- to give them more pronounced shapes and texture.

What’s more, he seems to refrain from overworking the aesthetics by not only working with the boxes in their original state- in an assemblage construct, but also by allowing the original stains, tears, dents, and scratch-marks to give the work character.

The Original Art Car
Robert Rauschenberg 1955-1959

Additionally, he takes academic techniques, such as printmaking and silk-screening, and applies them to the surface to give these ‘relics’ a contemporary re-connection. between two-dimensional painting and drawing and three-dimensional sculpture and installation.

And in all of this ideal, Rauschenberg presents us with a message of validation to connect our past to our present. And the real beauty of this ideal, this connection of past-to-present, is that despite his fame much of the works in this exhibition are practically unknown.

The exhibition is supported by Fayez Sarofim, Schlumberger, The Brown Foundation, Inc., TOTAL and the Texan-French Alliance for the Arts, Maverick Capital Foundation, Louisa Stude Sarofim, Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro, SYSCO Corporation, Windi and David Grimes II, Christie’s, Sara Dodd-Spickelmier and Keith Spickelmier, Janie C. Lee and David B. Warren, Lester Marks and Dr. Penelope Gonzalez, Herbert

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Art History Guide would like to thank Dune for writing this great piece and The Red Pub who was the original publisher. Article was used here with permission from Dune-Micheli Patten. Do not re-publish this article in it’s entirety without permission from the owner.

[Via The Red Pub]

Rauschenberg, art, art history, Dune, Patten, Menil collection, Houston art, artist