Retroactive 1, painting
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ART |
Painting analysis:
I believe that the painting is called 'Retroactive 1' because of it's definition, to drive back. Since this is a collage of different events in history it is a very suitable title. The painting consists of numerous objects, images, and scenes taken from magazines and television. They are placed close together for contrasting effects to reflect the connection between powerful human emotion and the corporate philosophies of the events of the world around us. The artist used images of an American astronaut, John F. Kennedy, a black cloud like blob in the background, apples, a grey town, a red color image which looks like blood and veins, etc... The picture of the late President John F. Kennedy is added to the painting as the main focus to reflect the reassuring promise for America’s future and its determination. Due to the tragedy of Kennedy’s assassination that same year, his image also works as a reminder of a man whose greatness and goals should continue through memory and action. The overlapping colors and lines gives the impression of a series of collaged screen shots on television. Rauschenberg also added an old Renaissance painting side to the newer and more modern pop art like this. As you can see he placed the ex-president, John F Kennedy in the center to symbolize Christ or a saint etc. and a bunch of smaller objects with great meanings surrounding them just like they did in the Renaissance. The recognizable image of the president shows a man who has most power in the world. In this image, the president is pointing to the red image on the right. That and the mushroom-like cloud that is floating above his head could is a reference to the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis, but it could also be a symbol for the nuclear bomb in general and the color red which represents blood and death it brings. The apples, for example, symbolize the symbol of sin, just like Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit in The Bible. However that is just usually one apple. Since there is a whole box of apples in this collage, I think that it means slightly more and because it is upturned and an astronaut from the first moon-landing is floating down on it, it could mean that the Apollo 11 was the opposite of "Forbidden fruit" and therefore a good thing for the world. The apples also symbolize knowledge, which in this context represents all the knew knowledge gained through the cold war. However according to the Arty Factory, this actually symbolizes the potential for mans evil not reaching any limits and the people that this evil lands on. The top right of the collage, where the mushroom-like cloud is also falling over a small image of a grey town, could symbolize the pollution in the world and how grey everything has become, it also seems to be the scariest and depressing part of the image since it doesn't have very much color aside from every other side.
“I don’t want a picture to look like something it isn’t. I want it to look like something it is. And I think a picture is more like the real world when it’s made out of the real world.” – Robert Rauschenberg
“I don’t want a picture to look like something it isn’t. I want it to look like something it is. And I think a picture is more like the real world when it’s made out of the real world.” – Robert Rauschenberg