Heavy Heart and a Thick Skin
One of Robert Rauschenberg's most utilized ways of working is collage. He uses it in a personal, and inspiring way so that it nearly tells a story. Part of why this is so inspiring is that it can be very difficult being a kid, and growing up feeling different from the people around you, which if what some of his work is based off of. These pieces are filled with emotion and thought. This is the reason why the theme of my exhibit is Collage artists and their pasts.
I very much so admire any artist that can take a piece of their life and show it to the world in the form that they choose to. One of the hardest parts of being an artist is allowing yourself to put your emotions into a piece and let strangers look at it, tear it up, love it, or not care for it at all. Its a scary thing to let an object bleed your emotions and be criticized for it. An interesting part of collage is that it takes objects that viewers are often already familiar with, and turns it into something from the heart. This transformation is what interests me most.
The artists I have put together are people who have the emotion to put into a piece, and the thick skin to let it be known. They are fearless, accomplished, and inspiring.
Hannah Hoch - Das schöne Mädchen [The Beautiful Girl], 1920
Marcel Duchamp-Autoportrait de profil, 1963
Varujan Boghosian-R, 2009
Henri Matisse-Nu bleu I (Blue Nude I), 1952
Kurt Schwitters-Merzbild 1A. The mental doctor., 1919
Jean Arp-Untitled, ca. 1922
Robert Rauschenberg-Windward, 1963
Matthew Cusic -Transamerican, 2004