Bicycloid IX 1994

Robert Rauschenberg made this Bicycloid IX out of metal, rubber, and light. It's like he's drawing in space, not with paint, but with these glowing lines of light. The neon is so raw, so exposed, you can see all the workings of it. It’s not trying to hide anything. The cold gleam of those industrial materials, the bike elevated on that metal stand; it’s a kind of monument to the everyday. It reminds me of the way Cy Twombly used to scrawl on his canvases, making marks that felt both deliberate and accidental, but here, it's neon. Check out how the seat is outlined in white, as if it is an important feature. Rauschenberg is in conversation with Duchamp, but instead of a urinal, it’s a bike, glowing and humming, asking us to look again.