Robert Rauschenberg: Cardboards and Related Pieces (Menil Collection) (Hardcover)

~ Yve-Alain Bois (Author), Josef Helfenstein (Introduction), Clare Elliott (Contributor)

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Product Description

Robert Rauschenberg (b. 1925) began to investigate the boundaries between painting and sculpture in the 1950s, working with a variety of found objects in his Combine paintings and freestanding Combines. Later, in his Cardboard series (1971--72), he confined himself to the use of cardboard boxes, eliminating virtually all imagery, reducing the palette to a near monochrome, and commenting in subtle ways on the materialism and disposability of modern life. This book is the first to focus exclusively on Rauschenberg’s rarely seen Cardboards, along with related works from his Made in Tampa Clay, Cardbirds, Egyptian, and Venetian series.
Approximately eighty-eight Cardboards and related sculptural pieces, many from the artist’s personal collection, are reproduced in the book. Full provenance and exhibition history are provided for each work, along with a complete bibliography. In addition, distinguished scholar Yve-Alain Bois offers an insightful essay that discusses the Cardboards and situates these lesser-known but critical pieces within the context of Rauschenberg’s long and creative career.

About the Author

Yve-Alain Bois is professor, School of Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey. Josef Helfenstein is director and Clare Elliott is assistant curator, both at The Menil Collection, Houston.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: The Menil Collection (April 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300123787
• ISBN-13: 978-0300123784
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #518,713 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rauschenberg's best, October 29, 2007

By	A. Davis "asdav" (Berkshires) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

These works have a special place in Rauschenberg's oeuvre, taking his marriage of art and life to the extreme. They are profoundly literal, and to my mind, the most audacious things he's ever done. Here it is. If you want art in the modern world, if you want to see beauty in the world around you, take a cardboard box and put it on the wall. That's it. Funny how his imagination then drove him to elaborate on this theme, from simple compositions to complex phrasings in cardboard boxes, to the extremes of trompe l'oeil, flourescent back-lighting, and other technically refined means, all to explore the basic premise: beauty is all around us, even in our cast-offs. And what we think of as disposable says a lot about our priorities. The superb essays in this book do their job of illuminating the art without smothering it in analysis. The works speak for themselves. I wish I could have seen the exhibition at Menil, though I did get to see many of these pieces at Sonnabend Gallery in NYC in the early 90s. This is a great book for the lover of modern art, but also anyone who's ever spent quality time staring in rapt adoration at an oily mud puddle or a pile of raked leaves. Essential!!!