Rauschenberg made this work from two identical canvases, matte black paint, and a sheet from the August 3, 1951, issue of the Asheville Citizen newspaper. Asheville, North Carolina, is near Black Mountain College, where Rauschenberg was a student in an experimental arts program in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He considered this and his other black paintings to be “visual experiences . . . not Art” and refuted the symbolic associations of his color choice. Despite its sideways orientation, the sheet’s contents remain legible beneath layers of paint. Sports columns, a crossword puzzle, and a wide range of advertisements, for groceries, jobs, and “baby chicks for 50 cents each,” give this painting historical as well as anecdotal context.

Gallery label from

2011.

Medium Oil, bitumen, and newspaper on canvas, two panels
Dimensions 6' 2" x 28 1/2" (188 x 72.4 cm)
Credit Purchase
Object number 123.1999
Department Painting & Sculpture

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Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg

American, 1925–2008 380 works online

Robert Rauschenberg worked in a wide range of mediums including painting, sculpture, prints, photography, and performance, over the span of six decades.

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