Rauschenberg's Monogram
Rauschenberg, Robert. Monogram. 1955-59.Combine:
oil, paper, fabric, printed reproductions, metal, wood, rubber shoe
heel, and tennis ball on canvas and wood mounted on four wheels with oil
on Angora goat and rubber tire
Robert Rauschenberg was an artist who I was introduced to in one of my classes at college. I loved the way that he combined different media to evolve his work to a completely new level. His work was often very concerned with pollution, pop-culture and environmental awareness. You can read more about him here .
This was an incredibly interesting piece to deconstruct. I found myself having a lot of fun doing so. It appears to be a commentary on pollution and human waste. The clustering of the items of the center of the platform seems to be a nod to the media and the overwhelming nature of mass culture. The thrown pieces of debris across the canvas really gives a hectic and chaotic feel. The paint across the base is laid down with frantic strokes evoking the feeling of fear and anxiety. The red of the paint across the face might also indicate blood or an act of violence. Reading even farther into the paint, it also resembles the colors of paper and ink, perhaps pointing to the media, specifically newspapers and how "in your face", in this case literally, the media can be.
While all of that is going on, the sheep/goat itself has paint smeared down and across its face like warpaint, further pushing the work into a militarist, primitive warfare and disorderly feel. The tire acts as a weight. It is similar to a burden making the tire seem to be hinting to the stress and pressure that the world is placing on people.Since the goat is an animal and animals are often associated with innocence the weight seems to imply it is a burden on our generation and the younger generations to come.
This pieces seems to invoke the shadow due to the obvious sense of chaos and violence. It however also hints at the persona and the masking of the face by the paint. This can be interpreted as representing the act of hiding behind makeup, as many people do, or hiding behind the media. Either way I believe this piece is a very interesting and fun example of these darker sides of the human condition.
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