Sri Lanka VI 1983

Robert Rauschenberg made this mixed-media work in 1983; it’s a layered image with a bright palette of oranges, blues, and greens. I can imagine him in his studio, collaging together different images like photos, and then painting over them with translucent washes of color, one layer informing the next. I wonder if Rauschenberg was thinking about the kind of cultural exchange you see in tourist art when he made this. Look at that border of flowers, like something you might find in a resort gift shop. But then, you have this intriguing mix of images inside: a fisherman, a tuna, and people in conversation. Each of these images, painted in a way that feels a bit tentative and incomplete. This piece reminds me of other artists who also play with layering and collage, like Hannah Höch or even more recent artists such as Julie Mehretu. It’s like Rauschenberg is inviting us to consider how artists are always responding to each other, building upon what came before, but also finding their own unique voices. Each mark, each layer, is a response to what was already there, embracing the beauty of uncertainty.