I was really sad when I found out last night that Bob Rauschenberg died. His art and approach to work, as well as Calvin Tompkins' writings about him, had a HUGE influence on me at a very young age. Even though I don't even like all of his stuff, I always loved the fact that he never stood still and hammered one idea to death, even as he grew older. He was always totally willing to throw himself completely into something he knew very little about, just to see how it worked and if he could do it, too (choreography, science and technology, printmaking, etc). For the love of mike! He was kinda like Duchamp in that almost any "groundbreaking" idea you could have was already explored in one way or another by him.
He was also inspirational as being somebody who came from a background that couldn't be further renoved from the arts scene or any knowledge thereof, yet went on to rule the art world off and on while still maintaining a totally down-to-earth personality that informed his extremely democratic approach to materials and dissemination of art. And he was funny and charming. From everything I read about him, it seemed like he approached EVERYTHING with pure intent, open heart, flexibility, extremely good humor, and complete disinterest in what sort of positive or negative impact it may have on his "reputation." The world needs a lot more artists like THAT. God bless you, Mr. Rauschenberg. You seemed like a most excellent dude.
Robert R.
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