Robert Rauschenberg (American, 1925-2008) Howl

Description:

Robert Rauschenberg (American, 1925-2008)

Howl, from the SEVEN CHARACTERS Series, 1982, a series of 70 unique collage pieces (Gemini, RR82-10; Old Gemini, 1035). Signed and dated "RAUSCHENBERG 82" in pencil l.r., stamped with Chinese character and "HOWL" on the reverse, stamped "(c) Gemini G.E.L." and inscribed "RR82-10" in pencil on the reverse. Cast paper, fabric collage, and mixed media construction, 42 1/2 x 30 1/2 in. (107.8 x 77.4 cm),presented in a Plexiglas box.
Condition: Good.

Provenance: Purchased from Jacqueline Silverman, Beverly Hills, California, 1983; to the estate of Mary Lee Ingbar, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

N.B. Rauschenberg conceived of this series as a collaborative project with China and its artists, using the working title of "China Collage" series, at a time when China was far from open to Westerners. Rauschenberg's work is highly self-contextualized with elements drawn from his immediate surroundings. While he came to China with a plethora of materials to employ in the project, he found inspiration in the elements he discovered around him. Rauschenberg chose to visit the Anhui province where the famous "1,000 year paper" or Xuan paper is produced. Here he also found the calligraphic symbols - chosen for both their forms and meanings - that would be the basis for the series. He was drawn to the silk wedding bed clothes that would evolve into the hanging medallions, and the Chinese propaganda posters that contained the paper collage elements he would ultimately employ. Even the seals he applied upon completion of the collages - those of the paper mill, the artist, and the publisher - came from Chinese antecedents.

The result was a group of seventy unique compositions, each with variations in the poster elements, the silk medallions, and the ribbons. By removing these elements from their original contexts through their cutting and reassembly, Rauschenberg created new relationships and contexts.

Estimate $6,000-8,000

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