Billy Hollis Design http://www.billyhollisdesign.com Sun, 02 Jan 2011 21:42:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Robert Rauschenburg http://www.billyhollisdesign.com/robert-rauschenburg/ http://www.billyhollisdesign.com/robert-rauschenburg/#comments Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:23:32 +0000 admin http://www.billyhollisdesign.com/wordpress/?p=34
Robert Rauschenberg, Charlene, 1954, Combine painting

Robert Rauschenberg, Charlene, 1954, Combine painting


Robert Rauschenburg’s dynamic work was first introduced to me by Karl Umlauf during my studio art painting classes at Baylor University. I had taken a 4′x8′ piece of plywood and poured plaster, wax and attached various objects to it. As I began to apply paint, images, remove things, add things, and just work with that fun surface, he took me aside and said, “before you go any further, you need to read this.” Placing in my arms a large black book entitled, Robert Rauschenburg, A Retrospective he smiled and told me to, “give it a rest.”

As a sophomore and full of fire, I thought I was doing something that hadn’t been done before. I would take the art world by surprise – combining objects on a 2D surface, placing abstract marks along side graphical images. But, as I turned the pages (and as I continue to grow older) I became very aware that nothing is really “original.” I soon discovered that Rauschenburg had been doing what I thought was so new and modern in the throws of the post-modern movement in the late 1940′s. He quickly became one of my favorite artists. His paintings are like soundscapes.

Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg

For years I’ve studied his work and it never ceases to amaze me. The once young man from Port Arthur, Texas who made an eternal mark in modern art inspired me to greatness. I could relate to him because he was from Texas. He had traveled and lived for a while in Morocco, so had I.

This past November, I got to see some more of his work at Madrid’s Thyssin Museum. They only had a couple of his works, but it reminded me about his work in Morocco. When I flew back home to Fez, I thought I’d see what he was up to currently. I quickly realized he had passed away and I didn’t know. I was really saddened by the news. It made me realize about how short life is. It also made me think of his famous “Erased de Kooning,” where he took a William de Kooning work and did his best to entirely erase it. God erased his body, but his work remains on earth as a reflection of his soul. You can read more about his life and legacy in the New York Times Article: Robert Rauschenberg, American Artist, Dies at 82.

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