 | This photograph from the catalogue for the Jonathan Edwards exhibition shows Robert Rauschenberg (left) working on drawings with the assistance of Terry Van Brunt in the artist's studio in Captiva, Florida, circa 1980. |
Works presented by Robert Rauschenberg, who has been hailed as "the greatest living American artist," to his former friend and art assistant Terry Van Brunt over the course of their 22-year association are on view Jan. 22-March 5 in a new exhibition at Jonathan Edwards College (JE).
"Robert Rauschenberg: Gifts to Terry Van Brunt" is the latest in a series of exhibitions hosted by JE Master Gary Haller, who writes in the exhibition catalogue: "As I see them, my motives for this exhibition are the same as for exhibitions of the previous six years of my mastership. I wish to present art in the intimate setting of the master's house to Yale undergraduates and members of the Yale community, organize associated master's teas that speak to that art, and have the pleasure of living with the art in my home. I confess that the name recognition that comes with Rauschenberg was particularly enticing."
Part of the American Pop Art movement, Rauschenberg is known for his unique use of materials and methods -- creating pieces that range from three-dimensional collages called combines to experimental prints on materials such as aluminum and plexiglass to performance pieces centered around chance.
The JE show includes 36 works created by Rauschenberg between 1979 and 1989, as well as two artworks by Van Brunt and a photograph of the two men by Robert Mapplethorpe. In the catalogue for the exhibit, Van Brunt writes: "Almost every work herein was made by Bob for me. Not for a show, not to pay the rent, not selected from a stack of work ready to be 'sent to New York,' but as gifts from his heart."
The catalogue also includes an essay titled "Reading Rauschenberg: Decoding Desire" by Jonathan D. Katz, executive coordinator of the Larry Kramer Initiative for Lesbian & Gay Studies and associate professor (adjunct) of women's and gender studies and the history of art, who played a major role in bringing this show to Yale.
Katz writes: "[T]he Rauschenberg we get in art history texts is an improvisational artist obsessed with randomness, for whom individual collage elements or for that matter entire works, have no personal meaning or coherence. ...
"Nonetheless, the more we look at Robert Rauschenberg's art, the more we see recognizable themes within it, as if our eyes need time to grow accustomed to its conceptual complexity and multivalence. But even a superficial glance at this exhibition reveals an unusual consistency of images and subjects. ... Here there are numerous rainbows and rockets, hang gliders and bird wings -- amidst other references to flight -- along with stars, cars, pterodactyl fossils, and photos of the same man. Each of these pictorial elements can be traced back to that man in the photographs, Terry Van Brunt."
Van Brunt and Katz talk about Rauschenberg at master's teas being presented in conjunction with the exhibition. Van Brunt will speak at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22; his talk will be followed by the opening reception for the show 5-
"Robert Rauschenberg: Gifts to Terry Van Brunt" is open to the public for viewing most Thursdays or by appointment. For information, call (203) 432-0356.
T H I S
JE to host exhibit of works by
Pop artist Robert Rauschenberg
7 p.m. Katz will discuss themes in the artist's works at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29. Both events will be held in the JE master's house, 70 High St., and are free and open to the public.
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