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Catalog Data

Interviewee:
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008  Search this
Interviewer:
Seckler, Dorothy Gees, 1910-1994  Search this
Names:
Amsterdam (Netherlands). Stedelijk Museum  Search this
Albers, Josef  Search this
Callahan, Harry M.  Search this
De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997  Search this
Kline, Franz, 1910-1962  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967  Search this
Tworkov, Jack  Search this
Extent:
31 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1965 Dec. 21
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Robert Rauschenberg conducted 1965 Dec. 21, by Dorothy Seckler, for the Archives of American Art.
In this interview Rauschenberg speaks of his role as a bridge from the Abstract Expressionists to the Pop artists; the relationship of affluence and art; his admiration for de Kooning, Jack Tworkov, and Franz Kline; the support he received from musicians Morton Feldman, John Cage, and Earl Brown; his goal to create work which serves as unbiased documentation of his observations; the irrational juxtaposition that makes up a city, and the importance of that element in his work; the facsimile quality of painting and consequent limitations; the influence of Albers' teaching and his resulting inability to do work focusing on pain, struggle, or torture; the 'lifetime' of painting and the problems of time relative symbolism; his feelings on the possibility of truly simulating chance in his work; his use of intervals, and its possible relation to the influence of Cage; his attempt to show as much drama on the edges of a piece as in the dead center; his belief in the importance of being stylistically flexible throughout a career; his involvement with the Stadtlijk Museum; his loss of interest in sculpture; his belief in the mixing of technology and aesthetics; his interest in moving to the country and the prospect of working with water, wind, sun, rain, and flowers; Ad Reinhardt's remarks on his Egan Show; his discontinuation of silk screens; his illustrations for Life Magazine; his role as a non-political artist; his struggles with abstraction; his recent theater work "Map Room Two;" his white paintings; and his disapproval of value hierarchy in art.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) was a painter and photographer from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tapes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 58 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Abstract expressionism  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Pop art  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.rausch65
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw95f23dcb7-0cff-4a08-b63a-c1e37ba05c7d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-rausch65