In 2025, Robert Rauschenberg would have turned one hundred. What is art? Rauschenberg asked himself the original question again and again, just as all those who still stand perplexed before his works do today. He would not consider any work of art to be complete. Everything is art, art is everything - and the true art is in recognizing this. He becomes a pioneer of Pop Art and rebels against the staid American society of the 1950s. What others throw away, Rauschenberg retrieves from the dump and carries it back into the homes of art. Rauschenberg cuts up canvases and glues them back together, mounts alarm clocks in them, lets wires stick out, or places a stuffed chicken on a board. In his three-dimensional works, he captures what has never before been seen in paintings. With his "Combine Paintings" made of scrap metal and everyday objects, he becomes internationally successful. In 1964 he represents the United States at the Venice Biennale. He is the first American artist to win the grand prize for painting. He is called the "American Picasso." Rauschenberg rushes through the art decades and he is always aware of his position as a catalyst in art. He defies all boundaries and advances the art world precisely by doing so. In 2025, the first digital catalog of his entire oeuvre is published: A Rush of Images. Rauschenberg.
Screensplay / Direction: Susanne Brand
PlayTime: 52 min
Client: NDR/arte
Produced: 2023 , BRANDMEDIA FILM