Rauschenberg: Canyon

In the mid-1950s, declaring there is no reason not to consider the world as a gigantic painting, Robert Rauschenberg began a series of radical experiments with what he called Combines, a term he coined to describe works that fused cast-off items like quilts or rubber tires with traditional supports. Canyon (1959), one of the artist''s best-known Combines, is a large canvas affixed with paper, fabric, metal, personal photographs, wood, mirrors and one very striking object: a large stuffed bald eagle, wings outstretched, carrying a drooping pillow, and balanced upon a wooden plank jutting out from the canvas. Canyon is one of six Combines in MoMA''s collection, and a landmark work that helped to revolutionize art in the postwar period. An essay by curator Leah Dickerman explores the legacy of this extraordinary piece, and places it within a key period in Rauschenberg''s career. See more