Robert Rauschenberg died last night at the age of 82, according to the Associated Press. A pop art mega-star known to use news and magazine articles to create original works of art, Rauschenberg had also explored the disciplines of painting, sculpture and dance.
See Robert Rauschenberg’s life story here.
He became famous in the 50’s by associating paint, photography and pop iconography in single works of art. In the 60’s, he started to add relevant images of the time to his work, most famously images of JFK.
A true artist, he stopped at nothing when creativity inspired him, as his work "Bed" can testify. "Bed" came out of Rauschenberg’s mind, when, lacking funds, he decided to use his quilt as a canvas, producing his most famous work to date.
A truly versatile artist, he even won a Grammy for best album artwork as he designed Talking Heads’s record cover for Speaking in Tongues
Towards the end of his life, he created the Change Inc. organization to help artists pay for health care. Rauschenberg was profiled by PBS in their series on American Masters.