Original artwork description:

On this self portrait you see me enjoying a drawing by Willem de Kooning erased by Robert Rauschenberg. Yes you did read that right. The artwork by Rauschenberg is an erased drawing by De Kooning.

In the 50s Rauschenberg set out to discover whether an artwork could be produced entirely through erasure. An act focused on the removal of marks rather than their accumulation.

Rauschenberg first tried erasing his own drawings but ultimately decided that in order for the experiment to succeed he had to begin with an artwork that was undeniably significant in its own right.

He approached Willem de Kooning, an artist for whom he had tremendous respect, and asked him for a drawing to erase. Somewhat reluctantly, de Kooning agreed. 'I give you a hard one to erase,' he reportedly had said.

Materials used:

Acrylic on masonite

Tags:

#erased drawing #abstract expressionism #drawing #realism #photorealism #hyperrealism #museum #looking at art #willem de kooning #looking at painting #art within art #robert rauschenberg