Bowdoin College Museum of Art | - Visual Autobiography, triptych

Preview image of work. triptych of three offset lithographs on wove paper, Visual Autobiography, triptych 27447

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Visual Autobiography, triptych

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Artist

Robert Rauschenberg (Milton Ernest Rauschenberg) (Port Arthur, Texas, 10/22/1925 - 5/12/2008, Lee County, Florida)

Title

Visual Autobiography, triptych

Creation Date

1968

Century

mid-20th century

Dimensions

66 1/8 x 48 5/8 in. (167.96 x 123.51 cm) each

Object Type

Creation Place

North America, United States

Medium and Support

triptych of three offset lithographs on wove paper

Credit Line

Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of Marian B. Javits, Robert Rauschenberg, and Milton Glaser, Art © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation/Licensed by VAGA, New York, New York

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Robert Rauschenberg’s monumental three-part lithograph offers an encyclopedic array of information signifying personal identity. The first panel combines hard and soft science with an X-ray of the artist’s skeleton superimposed over an astrological chart. The middle panel alludes to the indexical trace of a fingerprint, similar to Rauschenberg’s 1964 "Self-Portrait (for “The New Yorker” Profile)", also included in this exhibition, with a spiral-patterned text that documents significant events of Rauschenberg’s life and artistic career, centering on a photograph of the artist as a child surrounded by his family. The third panel includes a large-scale photograph of Rauschenberg during a performance of "Pelican (1963)", paired with images that convey his geographical history–a photograph of the New York skyline and a nautical chart from near his hometown of Port Arthur, Texas. Together, the three panels suggest the complexity of the individual by offering a flood of information for the viewer to decode and interpret.