Rauschenberg Case Study
Challenging the Limits

This section of Making Sense of Modern Art explores the range of art-making practices involved in Robert Rauschenberg's career by examining fourteen of his important works which were acquired by SFMOMA in 1999.

In the 1950s, Rauschenberg was one of the few emerging artists in the New York avant-garde who, as he put it, respected the Abstract Expressionists enough not to copy them. Throughout his long career, he has challenged the limits of art-making. In the early 1950s, his inclination to experiment with painting, photography, printmaking, collage, found-object sculpture, and performance art was already apparent.

Making Sense of Modern Art offers an extensive and engaging guide to modern and contemporary works in the Museum's permanent collection. Its rich-media format enables you to "zoom in" on full-screen details of individual artworks, explore excerpts from archival videos and films, and listen to commentary by artists, art historians, critics, and collectors.

This feature works best with high-bandwidth Web access. You can also view it at the Museum on our interactive kiosks, located in the galleries and the Koret Visitor Education Center.

If you can't access the QuickTime movies, please check our troubleshooting tips.

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