Untitled (Kabal American Zephyr) 1983

Rauschenberg, well he cobbled together this strange chair-like object from found metal and an old advertisement. The layers of rust and fading paint suggest the slow accumulation of time and history. I love how the textures and patinas of the found objects speak to the beauty in decay, and the art making process as a kind of archeology. There’s this old advertisement for Royal Crown Cola, its colours faded and peeling, yet it sits on top of the simple metal chair. I imagine Rauschenberg found it somewhere, maybe at a junk yard? I want to run my hands over the peeling paint and feel the textures of the metal and wood. The whole thing reminds me of Kurt Schwitters, who was another great junk artist. For me, this work opens up a space where beauty and meaning emerge from the discarded and overlooked things of everyday life. It’s also just a great object to look at. I wonder what the temperature is.