May 13, 2008

just heard robert rauschenberg died

i remember arguing with my parents about the floor piece with the goat when i was like 8 years old

also remember when i suddenly "got" how silkscreened images functioned in his combine paintings

lots of great artists and writers have died recently but this one really hurts me right in the deep guts

he's kind of an our dad

i copied this from the end of his new york times obit:
“I usually work in a direction until I know how to do it, then I stop,” he said in an interview in the giant studio on Captiva in 2000. “At the time that I am bored or understand — I use those words interchangeably — another appetite has formed. A lot of people try to think up ideas. I’m not one. I’d rather accept the irresistible possibilities of what I can’t ignore.”