“I don’t want my personality to come through the piece … I want my paintings to be reflections of life.” —Robert Rauschenberg
This artwork by Rauschenberg, “Whistle Stop (Spread)” belongs to the artist’s Spreads series, produced from 1975 to 1982. For the artist, the word “spread” carried several connotations, including a wide expanse of land, a fabric covering, and a reference to the large scale of these artworks. The Spreads relate to Rauschenberg’s “Combines,” a term the artist used in 1954 to describe a series of works that combine painting and sculpture, abstraction and representation.
“Whistle Stop (Spread)” features reproductions of photographs and illustrations, a blinking red light, and two doors that can be displayed open or closed. The light attached to the right panel suggests a railroad station in a “whistle-stop” town, where trains stop only if signaled. This Combine painting features reproductions of an oil tanker, the sea, a lobster, birds, and fish—all related to the artist’s childhood in Port Arthur, Texas, on the Gulf of Mexico. Other images in the work have little to do with the southeast Texas environment, except perhaps as a contrast or an escape, for example snowy mountains and a map of Africa. However, the painting’s meaning remains open-ended. The array of elements in Rauschenberg’s art trigger associations that are personal to each viewer.
“Whistle Stop (Spread)” is currently on view in the first-floor galleries. Remember, you can search the permanent collection on the Modern’s website prior to your visit to see which works are currently on view: https://lnkd.in/ePtBZ6-9
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Instagram Photo by @c.p.harrison
“Whistle Stop (Spread),” 1997. Combine painting: mixed media on five panels. Overall: 84 1/8 x 180 ½ x 8 inches. Collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Museum purchase and Commission, The Benjamin J. Tillar Memorial Trust. ©Robert Rauschenberg Foundation
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Designer, Illustrator, and 3D Artist
3wThis painting is a lot cooler in person!! the copper parts are actually a really cool metallic paint, and with the other patterns it really plays with your eyes. Also It's really big, like 6 feet atleast!