Drawings for Dante's 700 Birthday, I.B. 1965

Robert Rauschenberg made 'Drawings for Dante's 700 Birthday, I.B.', using collage and paint. The overall effect is layered and complex, like a mind map made with scraps of newspapers and personal photos. The material aspects of this piece are so interesting; Rauschenberg embraced texture and chance. Look at the way he lets the ink bleed and pool, creating these soft, hazy edges around the harsher graphic elements. The physicality of the medium is upfront, with drips and splatters adding to the sense of immediacy. There’s a tension between the flat printed images and the expressive paint marks that animate the surface. This tension is mirrored by the subject matter: an almost overwhelming barrage of historical references, cultural symbols, and political slogans. I’m reminded of Kurt Schwitters, who also used collage to make meaning from the detritus of everyday life. Like Schwitters, Rauschenberg invites us to find poetry in the chaos.