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<\/p>\n\u201cRauschenberg at 100: As Large as the World Is\u201d focuses on the Bob Rauschenberg\u2019s deep ties to Southwest Florida. The artist moved to Captiva Island in 1970 and made it the epicenter of his artistic pursuits for the next 38 years. The exhibition, which features locally produced and privately held works \u2014 most never before exhibited and spanning several pivotal decades of his career \u2014 was scheduled to close May 2. It will now run through Aug. 1.<\/p>\n
MORE INFORMATION:<\/p>\n
\u201cRauschenberg at 100: As Large as the World Is\u201d opened Jan. 15 in the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery Annex in Building J, which is the Florida SouthWestern State College library.<\/p>\n
The title is drawn from the artist\u2019s deeply held belief and philosophy on the interconnectedness of local and global perspectives. He once said, \u201cFort Myers is as small as your mind is. It can be just as large as the world is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of the works in the exhibition have not been previously exhibited.
The exhibition includes:<\/p>\n
\u201cAutobiography\u201d (1968): A monumental \u201cself-portrait\u201d triptych created the same year that Rauschenberg purchased his first property and home on Captiva Island;Unique paintings and transfer drawings: Original works from Rauschenberg\u2019s SPREADS, BOREALIS, ANAGRAM, and RUNT series;The \u201cMOON MUSEUM\u201d (1969): A tiny collective artwork containing contributions by Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and four other artists, a copy of which was covertly attached to the Apollo 12 lunar lander and flown to the moon by NASA for future discovery. (Rauschenberg later described the \u201cMoon Museum\u201d ceramic wafer as \u201cthe smallest piece I have ever made\u201d and \u201calso the farthest away.\u201d The chip is just 1\u201d x \u00bd\u201d.)<\/p>\n
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Courtesy of Bob Rauschenberg Gallery<\/p>\n
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Bob Rauschenberg Gallery<\/p>\n
Rauschenberg contributed a line to the Moon Museum, which resides on the leg to the Apollo 12 lunar lander on the surface of the moon.<\/p>\n
A Legacy of Peace and Collaboration<\/p>\n
Besides celebrating his centenary, the exhibition also honors Rauschenberg\u2019s role as a global diplomat. Between 1984 and 1991, he launched the Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI) at the United Nations. By bringing art to nations such as Cuba, Chile, Tibet, China and the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War, Rauschenberg used the creative process to transcend political borders, foster cross-cultural understanding and to promote world peace.<\/p>\n
As Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Jerry Saltz famously remarked, “Robert Rauschenberg was not a giant of American art; he was the giant.”<\/p>\n
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Courtesy of Bob Rauschenberg Gallery<\/p>\n
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Bob Rauschenberg Gallery <\/p>\n
Bob Rauschenberg in China during 1982 visit to the Xuan Paper Mill<\/p>\n
About the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery<\/p>\n
The Bob Rauschenberg Gallery was founded as The Gallery of Fine Art in 1979 on the Lee County campus of Florida Southwestern State College\/FSW (then Edison Community College).<\/p>\n
On June 4, 2004, the Gallery of Fine Art was renamed the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery to honor and commemorate its long-time association and friendship with the artist. The artist insisted on naming the space the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery (versus the \u201cRobert Rauschenberg Gallery\u201d) as it was consistent with the intimate, informal relationship he maintained with both the local Southwest Florida community and FSW.<\/p>\n
For the dedication ceremony, the artist (as he often did) created an original print edition to benefit the gallery and to commemorate the event. As he had recently suffered a stroke, Rauschenberg inked his thumb with orange pigment, adding a unique impression on each lithograph and simply signed them \u201cBob.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over more than three decades until his death in 2008, the gallery worked closely with Rauschenberg to present world premiere exhibitions including multiple installations of the \u201c\u00bc Mile or Two Furlong Piece.\u201d<\/p>\n
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WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n
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WGCU Arts Reporter Tom Hall <\/p>\n
The Bob Rauschenberg Gallery is currently undergoing renovations so the exhibition is located in the annex in the Rush Library in Building J. <\/p>\n
Admission: Free and open to the Public.<\/p>\n
Gallery Hours: Monday \u2013 Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed holidays).<\/p>\n
Support for WGCU\u2019s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cRauschenberg at 100: As Large as the World Is\u201d focuses on the Bob Rauschenberg\u2019s deep ties to Southwest…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-267052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}