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Robert Rauschenberg - Pop Art Pioneer

Alastair Sooke celebrates the American artist Robert Rauschenberg, who created a crucial bridge between the abstract expressionists of the 50s and the pop artists of the 60s.

Alastair Sooke celebrates the protean genius of one of America's most prolific and original artists, Robert Rauschenberg. Fearless and influential, he blazed a trail for artists in the second half of the 20th century, and yet his work is rarely seen here in the UK.

Rauschenberg was the first artist to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 1964, creating a crucial bridge between the abstract expressionists of the 50s and the pop artists who emerged in the 60s.

Famous for his 'combines' that elevated the rich junk of life to the status of high art, he continued to work right up to his death in 2008, collaborating with dancers, scientists and social activists on a startlingly broad array of projects.

Alastair travels to the east coast of the USA to talk to those closest to Rauschenberg to reveal the boundless curiosity and restless experimentation that kept him engaged till the very end of his six-decade career.

1 hour

Last on

Thu 23 Jan 2020 02:00

Music Played

  • Cream

    I Feel Free

  • ODESZA

    Bloom

  • Nick Drake

    Cello Song

  • Bert Jansch & John Renbourn

    After The Dance

  • Brian Eno

    1/1 (Excerpt)

  • Nick Drake

    Three Hours

  • Talking Heads

    Seen And Not Seen

  • Talking Heads

    Drugs

  • Brian Eno

    In Dark Trees

  • William Orbit

    In a landscape

  • Cream

    White Room

  • Fatback

    Wicky Wacky

  • Japan

    All Tomorrow's Parties

  • The Velvet Underground

    Sunday Morning

  • Love

    Alone Again Or

  • Sufjan Stevens

    Futile Devices

  • Strange Cargo

    The Name of The Wave

  • Donna Summer

    I Feel Love

  • Donna Summer

    I Feel Love

  • London Grammar

    Hey Now

  • London Grammar

    Hey Now

  • London Grammar

    If You Wait

  • Nick Drake

    Place To Be

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Alastair Sooke
Series Producer John Mullen
Executive Producer Janet Lee

Broadcasts

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