The Ancient Incident (Kabal American Zephyr) 1981

Editor: Here we have Robert Rauschenberg’s "The Ancient Incident (Kabal American Zephyr)" from 1981. It seems to be constructed from wooden chairs and steps, making a strange, almost totemic form. What do you make of it? Curator: For me, it's crucial to consider this work in the context of Rauschenberg’s overall project: a deep engagement with materiality and process. He's taking pre-existing objects, things readily available – the mundane stuff of everyday life – and reconfiguring them. The readymade steps and chairs signal a move away from traditional art making skills toward artistic labour rooted in construction and assembly. Editor: So, the importance isn't in, say, carving some ornate design, but in the act of putting these things together? Curator: Precisely. Consider the term "assemblage." He is challenging traditional notions of authorship. By using pre-fabricated objects, Rauschenberg diminishes the artist's hand. And, we must look into how the wooden materials are found, reclaimed, consumed by culture. What histories are embedded in this salvaged wood? Editor: That makes me wonder where he sourced these items and if the cultural context of each chair or set of steps mattered. Does this almost collapsing structure tell us about a specific critique or celebration of labour in the late 20th century? Curator: Indeed. The joining of stairs and chairs suggests not only the rise of labour but possibly its unstable and often discarded components. So how do we interpret these components being lifted away from their intended functions? Editor: I see what you mean. By repurposing these mass-produced materials, Rauschenberg forces us to rethink how value is assigned to objects based on how and by whom they are made. Curator: Precisely. Now what would you say is the ultimate effect of seeing those objects in a museum or gallery space?