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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Renowned American artist Robert Rauschenberg, who |
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died on May 12, 2008, is being posthumously honored with a 2009 |
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Texas Medal of Arts Award for Lifetime Achievement on April 7, 2009; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The Texas Medal of Arts Awards, presented by the |
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Texas Cultural Trust Council, spotlights and celebrates the |
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creative excellence, exemplary talents, and outstanding |
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contributions by Texans in selected categories; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Port Arthur on October 22, 1925, Robert |
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Rauschenberg was a pharmacology student at The University of Texas |
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at Austin before serving as a member of the U.S. Navy during World |
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War II; after seeing an exhibit of paintings for the first time |
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while stationed in San Diego, art entered his realm of possibility, |
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and he went on to attend the Kansas City Art Institute on the G.I. |
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Bill; he later studied at Academie Julian in Paris, Black Mountain |
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College in North Carolina, and the Art Students League in New York |
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City and became friends with such creative forces as musician John |
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Cage and dancer Merce Cunningham; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Rauschenberg's career took off during the 1950s, |
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and he soon developed a reputation for experimentation and |
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mischief; he produced three monochromatic series, Black Paintings, |
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White Paintings, and Red Paintings, and challenged conceptions of |
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beauty when he began incorporating found objects into his work; |
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this idea that junk could be the stuff of art eventually resulted in |
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what he termed "combines," works that combined aspects of painting |
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and sculpture, the most famous of which was titled Monogram and |
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consisted of a stuffed angora goat, a tire, a police barrier, the |
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heel of a shoe, a tennis ball, and paint; and |
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WHEREAS, The following decade, Mr. Rauschenberg continued to |
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obscure the lines between mediums, creating silk-screen prints from |
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magazine photographs, which he then overlapped with painted |
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brushstrokes; he also explored choreography, having already |
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designed sets and costumes for the most innovative dancers of the |
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day, and in 1964 he toured Europe and Asia with the Merce Cunningham |
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Dance Company; his status in the art world was sealed that same year |
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when he became the first American to win the international grand |
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prize at the Venice Biennale; and |
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WHEREAS, Drawn to collaboration and forever seeking new |
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combinations of material, Mr. Rauschenberg was involved in an array |
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of joint projects through the years; he cofounded Experiments in |
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Art and Technology to encourage cooperation between artists and |
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engineers, and he enjoyed productive relationships with several |
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workshops, most notably Universal Limited Art Editions, where he |
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created his first lithograph; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1984, he established the Rauschenberg Overseas |
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Culture Interchange, or ROCI, to promote world peace and |
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understanding, and over an eight-year period, he toured 10 |
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countries, working with local artists and artisans and exhibiting |
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along the way; that massive undertaking ultimately generated more |
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than 200 works, most of which were part of an exhibition held at the |
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National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Rauschenberg's famous productivity was on |
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display again in 1997 in a retrospective put on by the Guggenheim |
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Museum in New York; consisting of some 400 objects, it was the |
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largest exhibition in the institution's history, yet it did not |
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capture the full story of his life's work; he remained, for another |
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decade, as prolific, experimental, and avid an artist as ever, even |
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after suffering a stroke in 2002 that left him partially paralyzed; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Working in what he described as "the gap between art |
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and life," Robert Rauschenberg profoundly shaped 20th century art |
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with his eclectic, multifaceted, and freewheeling style that |
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suggested an artist was not bound to one medium and that everyday |
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finds could be reconceived to exciting effect; although this icon |
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of American art is certainly missed, he leaves behind a legacy that |
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continues to resonate with audiences the world over; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life and work of Robert |
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Rauschenberg on the occasion of the 2009 Texas Medal of Arts. |