Off the Wall: A Portrait of Robert Rauschenberg

By Calvin Tomkins

Book Overview

Calvin Tomkins first discovered the work of Robert Rauschenberg in the late 1950s, when he began to look seriously at contemporary art. While gazing at Rauschenberg's painting Double Feature, Tomkins felt compelled to make some kind of literal connection to the work, and it is in that sprit that "for the last forty years it's been his] ambition to write about contemporary art not as a critic or a judge, but as a participant." Tomkins has spent many of those years writing about Robert Rauschenberg, whom he rapidly came to see as "one of the most inventive and influential artists of his generation." So it seemed natural to make Rauschenberg the focus of Off the Wall, which deals with the radical changes that have made advanced visual art such a powerful force in the world.

Off the Wall chronicles the astonishingly creative period of the 1950s and 1960s, a high point in American art. In his in his collaborations with Merce Cunningham and John Cage, and as a pivotal figure linking abstract expressionism and pop art, Rauschenberg was part of a revolution during which artists moved art off the walls of museums and galleries and into the center of the social scene. Rauschenberg's vitally important and productive career spans this revolution, reaching beyond it to the present day. Featuring the artists and the art world surrounding Rauschenberg--from Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning to Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol, together with dealers Betty Parsons, and Leo Castelli, and the patron Peggy Guggenheim--Tomkins's stylish and witty portrait of one of America's most original and inspiring artists is fascinating, enlightening, and very entertaining.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312425856
• ISBN13: 9780312425852
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Picador USA
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Rauschenberg and an era

This is not only a great insight into Robert Rauschenberg, his life and his tallent, but gives a good review of the art world and the influences of that time.

Insightful review of Raschenberg's life and work

I had just read Tomkins exhaustive and excellent biography of Duchamp when I picked up this book to read. This book is very entertaining and eye opening yet not quite the detailed book that he wrote of Duchamp. That said, I would highly recommend you read this book, not just for the insight into Raschenberg's life and art, but also for the detail that Tompkins exercises about the Abstract Expressionist movement among others, and the contemporary artists whom Raschenberg interacted with during his time in New York.

BEST Book on Rauschenberg, Johns, et al.

Incredibly informative. Thomkins provides excrutiating detail in the most interesting way. Never a dull moment. If you have any interest in Rauschenberg, Johns, Happenings, etc., then you should read this book. There is no way that you will walk away without learning MANY new things.

A fascinating insider's view of the New York art world

Lucky, lucky, lucky. That's how I felt after a friend lent me a copy of this out-of-print book. Here was a first hand chronicle of the New York art scene from the 50s to the 70s. Although Rauschenberg was the main artist featured, interesting vignettes about other artists were included, from Jasper Johns to Marcel Duchamp, from De Kooning to Andy Warhol. Did you know that it was Rauschenberg who influenced Jasper Johns to quit his bookstore job and go full-time into art? Rauschenberg's career is fascinating itself. Read and enjoy.