Art 318: 19th & 20th Century Art -Enholm

Jose Santos
Ticket # 11538
Fall 2015

Research Paper -Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg is quoted as saying Painting relates to both art

and life. Neither can be made. (I try to act in that gap between the two.), a
fairly intense comment that can be applied to any artist; though from his
mouth the words are infinitely more charged. As an artist Rauschenberg was
a trailblazer, a lynchpin of modern American art, a father to the Pop Art
movement and worthy of countless other accolades, but he is also a bit of a
mystery. His art leaves much room from interpretation and contemplation
from the viewers and his personal life also leaves room for an equal amount
of speculation. It is frequently speculated that Rauschenberg was a
homosexual man living in the closet to the general public. This living
behind walls found a way out in his artwork. Without completely revealing
himself to the general public he did infuse his art with hints or code (to
those in the know) of his own homosexuality.
Robert Rauschenberg was both in Port Arthur, Texas to an economically
impoverished family and wore sown rag clothing in his youth. It was not until
his enlistment in the U.S Navy that he began to have an interest in the arts.
Via the G.I. Bill he was able to attend the Kansas City Art Institute in 1947,
the Parisian Academi Julian in 1948 and in 1948 Black Mountain College in

North Carolina. It was there that he began to make a name for himself and
worked with established artists John Cage and Merce Cunningham. Though
he married fellow student Susan Weil in 1950, he was also linked
romantically with artist Cy Twombly around the same time. In the early 1950
Rauschenberg, heavily interested in the Abstract Expressionists, mostly
worked on painting and collage pieces. It was not until 1953 that he began
to work on his Combines which still are his most well regarded pieces.
These combines blur the line between painting and sculpture and included
the use of everyday found object as the majority of his compositions. In
many cases these pieces are untitled and the viewer is left to decipher the
coded and cryptic meaning of the pieces. It is the around the inception of
these pieces that Rauschenberg is said to have had an extended relationship
(1953-1961) with well-regarded artist Jasper Johns. It is this relationship
which seems to be deeply ingrained in Rauschenbergs work at the time.
The coding and hinting at a homosexual relationship, which at the time was
illegal, seems to be not necessarily driving force but an undercurrent of
many of Rauschenbergs works.1
One can look to the piece Should Love Come First? and find some of these
hints in the composition. A collage piece created circa 1951, it is composed
of various elements including the words Should Love Come First?, a
diagram of clocks, and an imprint of Rauschenbergs foot contiguous with

1 Brucker, Julia. "Robert Rauschenberg Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works." The
Art Story. Accessed November 23, 2015

a collaged dance studio progressive waltz diagram delineating the male

position, together they constitute a male-male waltz.2 It may be a heavy
handed reading of the pictorial makeup of the piece, but the viewer is not
meant to take any of these elements as a simple collection of items. Modern
art pieces must be pondered and looked over for the message between the
lines or in this case otherwise unconnected items. Furthermore, we do know
that at the time that this piece was made, Rauschenberg was in a romantic
involvement with artist Ty Twombly. This was not an era in which
homosexuals could openly be out; it was still an illegal act if not blatantly
taboo in most places. If we take into account the male dominated art scene
of the Abstract Expressionists, which Rauschenberg admired, we can assume
that a homosexual amongst their midst would not have been taken lightly or
accepted. What better way to remark on his forbidden relationship than to
slyly make note of it via the coding of a two males dancing. The feet in
unison but separated as they go about the steps. Rauschenberg has coded
this subtext to those in the know and for viewers now a long ago deciphered
message.
In the collage/painting Bantam (1955), Rauschenberg has again added
messages that suggest his homosexuality, this time by including some
camp elements. Though camp is not specific to homosexuals; there has
long been a pairing of the two. In this piece Rauschenberg has added
2 Katz, Jonathan D.. 2008. Committing the Perfect Crime": Sexuality, Assemblage,
and the Postmodern Turn in American Art. Art Journal 67 (1). College Art
Association: 39

delicate fabric swatches, a nineteenth century nude odalisque staring at

herself in a mirror and another autographed photo of Judy Garland3. Though
this may not seem like much to a casual viewer now, one must look at it with
the eyes of a previous generation. Currently, society as seen fit to toss aside
the stereotype of gay men with infatuations and obsessions with the film star
Judy Garland. One would assume that at the time of the creation of the
piece, that stereotype was still a secret to the straight world. Of note as
well is the use of delicate fabric swatches; which can be seen as a hidden
message as well. In the art world of the time there doesnt seem to be room
for an artist to blatantly use these swatches without a defined intent. Calling
out their delicate nature is charging the item with meaning. This is the era of
the wild male artist after all, where the Abstract Expressionists were all wild
and bold paint streaks; Pollocks cigarette ash tarnishing the surface of his
paintings; and here we have Rauschenberg including a swatch of a delicate
fabric. Though a may seem a stretch to include this piece as being coded,
there does seem to be precedent for the inclusion of the piece as another
expression of his closeted homosexuality; even at the risk of stereotyping.
Lastly, Rauschenbergs 1959 piece Pail for Ganymede is also rich with
symbolism for Rauschenbergs homosexuality. In terms of construction the
piece is fairly simple: a rectangular metal box, attached to this is a small
piece of metal work attached to the midsection; above this a dented metal

3 Katz, Jonathan. "The Art of Code." Jonathan Katz. 1993. Accessed November 24,
2015.

held up with a metal rod. The Greek tale of Ganymede is one of a beautiful
boy being taken by the gods to serve as their servant. This would be one
reading of the myth. The other more telling version of the story is about the
physical attraction that Zeus had for the young Ganymede; The pair also
served to validate the homoerotic tradition.4 It is a problematic connection
to make here on account of the age difference here, but I would assume that
a coded message is still being signaled. A signal to the literate and scholars
of Greek mythology. Though it may seem simple to make these connections
now, it seems odd that not many made a point of this at the time of the
works first exposure. Perhaps there is something about hiding in plain sight
for Rauschenberg that worked in his favor. No one made a big deal of this
pieces hidden meaning because no one was looking for signs of his
homosexuality to begin with.
Does some of Robert Rauschenbergs work contain coded symbols and hints
to his homosexuality? There seems to be enough evidence to suggest that
this was case. Who knows if even Rauschenberg was aware that he was
laying this subtext down in his art; if he would allowed himself this far out of
the closet? There was never a disclosure on Rauschenbergs part; his
personal life was spoken in whispers and suggested but never stated
outright. Though we can just look at some of his work and see
that...sometimes it will say more than words can.

4 Aldrich, Robert F. Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History From Antiquity to World
War II. Vol. 1. 2001. 174.

Works Cited
Brucker, Julia. "Robert Rauschenberg Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works."
The Art Story. Accessed November 23, 2015.
http://www.theartstory.org/artist-rauschenberg-robert.htm#synopsys_header.
Katz, Jonathan D.. 2008. Committing the Perfect Crime": Sexuality,
Assemblage, and the Postmodern Turn in American Art. Art Journal 67 (1).
College Art Association: 3853. doi:10.2307/20068581.
Katz, Jonathan. "The Art of Code." Jonathan Katz. 1993. Accessed November
24, 2015. http://www.queer-arts.org/archive/show4/forum/katz/katz_set.html.
Aldrich, Robert F. Who's Who in Gay and Lesbian History From Antiquity to
World War II. Vol. 1. 2001. 174.