"Overdrive" 1963 By Robert Rauschenberg.
Robert Rauschenberg (October 1925 - May 2008) was an incredibly influential American painter, sculptor and graphic artist of the Pop Art movement, a contributer of abstract expressionism as well as being an inventor of new artistic reyclable materials. Born in Texas, Rauschenberg served in the U.S Navy during WWII. A keen enthusiast for self - expression he studied at Kansas city Art Institute, then onto the Academie Julian in Paris France. A wide varying media of materials included experimentation with print making, paper making, photography and performance. Rauschenberg spent most of his working life living in New York City.
Rauschenberg's visionary involved rebuilding and bringing new life into old, worn everyday objects that he would discover on the streets of New York. These included urban decay and debris, and unwanted clothing. The objects and resources found would provide the foundations of his famous collage's. A collection of works under the "Red painting series" primarily focused on the application of striking bold red paint on canvas, in addition three dimensional materials were applied to enhance texture. Rustic and rough forms such as wood and nails provided a background to paint upon.
Famous works include his iconography of modern day life, a prime example would be the 1963 "Overdrive" piece a recollection of urban America. The collage's medium consists of oil and silkscreen on canvas as well as graphic images that are symbolic of American culture, a 96 x 70 inch artwork. The landmark of the Statue of Liberty indicates America in all its glory. There are elements of juxtaposition for the majority of the left is purely white with the use of bird imagery indicating the calmness and tranquility of nature. On the right hand side there are bold indications of red, black and grey. Rauschenberg is famous for using abstract shapes and warm primary colours which convey emotion and self - expression. The font of the stop signs is striking for it sends a message which interlinks with the painting's overall title. Overdrive indicates working too hard, this foreshadows the chaotic modern working world, life movng too quickly. The use of the clock diagrams could also be considered an indicator of time.
Rauschenberg's famous words were that the outcome of a piece is based on the "amount of intensity, concentration and joy put into it". "It is extemely important that art be unjustifiable". Robert Rauschenberg's artistic concept has greatly influenced other pop, conceptual late modern contemporary artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
