When I came to NY for a month long vacation in 2006, one of the things I looked forward to doing was going to the Met to view Robert Rauschenberg's Combines exhibition. It was actually a survey of all his "combines". Of course, being the excited one that I am, I hopped on an uptown train to the Met the very next day I arrived from Manila. The "combines" being in a single room gave me goose bumps. "Bed", "Monogram" and "Canyon" were all there! It was one of those things I was very thankful to have been given the opportunity to see being in NY at that time.
Then this morning I get two text messages from Keith and Karla separately both saying "Rauschenberg died yesterday...". Seconds after I read the sad news it donned to me that we just lost one of the most important artist of our time. I knew he was still working and moving between studios in NY and in Florida. He also happens to have given new meaning to how one could be so prolific as an artist. Prolific not only in terms of output but the varying media in which he creates. Paintings, prints, sculptures, photos, choreography... his work spans the whole gamut of artistry. This I truly admire and aspire to be.
*Rauschenberg passed away at 82 from heart failure.
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