White On White

On the Landing Strip for Shadows

Well, I probably should not weigh in, but the painting is not at MoMA in NYC, but is the SFMOMA San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. You are referring to Robert Rauschenberg's all-white painting triptych, described by John Cage as a landing strip for shadows. The actual quote is “airports for the lights, shadows and particles”. Of course the idea seems funny, as if Rauschenberg forgot to paint the canvas.

But he did paint the canvas, which is the point. What is an artist but a person who makes Art? What is a painter but a person who applies paint? What has had paint applied to it is said to have been painted.

The act of painting is to paint. Yes, it sounds silly. Rauschenberg was making a statement that pared down to its core, the act of painting is the important part of making a painting. While you may apply a fresh coat of paint to a room in your home, inspired by viewing Rauschenberg's White Painting, and then show your friends the painting you have done, it would not be an original thought.

The White Paintings are about the act. You should have been there as he painted them. Now, many years after he painted them one sees a blank, imageless artwork. You cannot go back in time to watch his strokes, but if you look closely…….

SFMOMA is also home to an even more famous Rauschenberg, The Eraser de Kooning Drawing. I have much more to say about this piece but will leave you with this: Robert Rauschenberg used Art Gum to erase. The label on the piece was hand printed by Jasper Johns. Rauschenberg added not a speck to the artwork. Most people believe there is nothing to see. They are incorrect. There is more than meets the mind, same as with the White paintings.

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