Robert Rauschenberg Reservoir
"It used to be thought that growing up in America was a serious handicap for an artist." [Tomkins 13] The reason behind that being art has always been pushed aside in America, never truly taken seriously; which at points today is still held to be just as true. This was not the case for all artists though, one of their names was Robert Rauschenberg. Robert Rauschenberg was born on October 22, 1925, in Port Arthur, Texas. Incidentally, that is not his original name. Rauschenberg 's original first name was Milton, however, he did not care for it and thought that Rauschenberg was bad enough to be stuck with. So, he changed his name to Bob, which was a more common name. He later saw that Robert was just as acceptable and common as Bob. Rauschenberg was a recognizable talent from the start, however, he did not think much of it. For a while during his childhood, Rauschenberg didn 't even realize that there was such a thing as being an artist. As much as his sister Janet loved all of his work, Rauschenberg "assumed anyone could draw." [Tomkins 14] That seems to be the key to being able to tell a great artist early on, he/she will think nothing of his/her work, yet he/she clearly has talent. Off the Wall shows his work when he was younger, and you can definitely see an artist in the making. Whether Rauschenberg himself believed it or not isn 't important, because he had greatness within him.
Fast-forwarding a few years, Rauschenberg 's talent would get him into one of the more prestigious art schools, named Black Mountain College. It "never had more than ninety students, and there were times when the enrollment lipped below twelve. In the twenty-three years of it precarious existence, though, from 1933 to 1956, this tiny enclave in the mountains of North Carolina became a sort of testing ground for ideas and attitudes that would help to shape the cultural climate of the nineteen sixties." [Tomkins 27] Many famous artists attended the college, such as John Cage, Willem de
Fast-forwarding a few years, Rauschenberg 's talent would get him into one of the more prestigious art schools, named Black Mountain College. It "never had more than ninety students, and there were times when the enrollment lipped below twelve. In the twenty-three years of it precarious existence, though, from 1933 to 1956, this tiny enclave in the mountains of North Carolina became a sort of testing ground for ideas and attitudes that would help to shape the cultural climate of the nineteen sixties." [Tomkins 27] Many famous artists attended the college, such as John Cage, Willem de
Cited: Fineberg, Jonathan. Art Since 1940: Strategies of Being. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. ©2000 Mattison, Robert S. Robert Rauschenberg: Breaking Boundaries. Yale University Press. New Haven and London. ©2003 Tomkins, Calvin. Off the Wall. Penguin Books. New York, New York. ©1980