Poets of the Cities: New York and San Francisco, 1950-1965 Page: 28
175 p. : ill. ; 22 x 25 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
between that context and something else. The non-judgmental acceptance of them
(Rauschenberg does not think of these objects as ugly or debased no matter how sordid
or mundane their origins-an aspect of approach quite similar to Ginsberg) places them
in that realm between art and life- it's like coming to terms with the impossible which is
really nothing more than an attitude of allowing directed towards the possible.
Frequently the question of Josef Albers' influence on Rauschenberg has been asked
(Albers was his teacher at Black Mountain College in 1948-49). It is acknowledged that
Albers was sought out for his thorough-going discipline. In spite of the almost outrageous
dissimilarity between their works (Albers paints squares of color evenly and precisely
applied) there seems to be a basic discipline of looking that they share. Albers calls
himself a "salesman of wonder" and remarks that he wishes his work to "open eyes" - not
only to the power of colors, but by extension, to everything in life, "because what he
taught had to do with the entire visual world.... The focus was always on your personal
sense of looking."16 [Actually Albers taught something about perception itself-even
beyond the visual.]
Rauschenberg and his friend the composer John Cage invoked a new sense of the
concrete, i.e., things which do not have to do with the specifics of personal expression or
world sorrowing social criticism. This is why these junk culture artists are said to be "in
favor of society." It is not that they are in fact in favor of society, rather that they accept
themselves as human beings whose historical situation simply is-there's no use making
bones about it. However they reach for a clarity of vision of the is-ness in which they have
been placed. Rauschenberg likes neither the idea of making one part of the work of art
stand out as focus nor does he take seriously the focus-label of "artist" for his existence.
He constantly notices when this happens and counteracts it, for example, by adding a
pillow to Bed in order to subvert the centrality of the quilt.
The process of chance determination as both a method of uncovering and a method of
communing with the past, of creating a new vitality out of the potentialities inherent in that
which has already been, ally Cage, Cunningham, Rauschenberg, Johns, and the East (in
particular the I Ching) and the Beat poets.
In place of a self-expressive art created by the imagination, taste, and desires of the
individual artist, Cage proposes an art born of chance and indeterminacy, in which
every effort is made to extinguish the artist's own personality; instead of the
accumulations of masterpieces, he urges a perpetual process of artistic discovery in
our daily life.1728
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Related Items
Other items on this site that are directly related to the current book.
Poets of the Cities: New York and San Francisco , 1950-65 [Brochure] (Text)
Brochure from the exhibition, "Poets of the Cities: New York and San Francisco 1950–65," November 20–December 29, 1974, held at the Dallas Museum of Art.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. Poets of the Cities: New York and San Francisco, 1950-1965, book, 1974; [New York]. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth176526/m1/32/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Museum of Art.