ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG MONOGRAM

Monogram                           google image

I can remember the first time I saw Monogram I was in Washington D.C. and there was this seminal piece of art I had studied in art history in college.  The University I attended was relativity new and wanted to pattern itself after Berkley in California which was novel for a conservative Florida of that time.  My art professors came from some of the best programs across the United States because they were drawn to the promise of building a new program with liberal funding and choice equipment. What was happening in NYC was the basis of much of our curriculum and we were abreast of the latest trends.  Rauschenberg was definitely in his prime and there for much revered by my art professors, as well as other movers and shakers of the time.  Rauschenberg always remained my favorite, he gave me permission to do something I had been dying to do, but didn't know I could break the rules, the art rules.  He taught me I could and I should. Later I saw the gold version of monogram all dipped, slick and smooth, but it would never hold a candle to this earthy raw version Rauschenberg first did.