Streaker 1997

Robert Rauschenberg crafted this sculpture, ‘Streaker’, from wood, assembling a chair in an unusual form. Rauschenberg came of age during a period of profound social transformation. He served in the Navy, later studying art at Black Mountain College where he was influenced by the avant-garde and challenged conventional notions of art. This work disrupts our expectations of everyday objects. The chair, split in two and reconfigured, loses its primary function. There’s a push and pull between the familiar and the strange, a sense of deconstruction that mirrors the societal shifts Rauschenberg witnessed. He once said, “It is impossible to approach anything without memories.” ‘Streaker’ speaks to themes of fragmentation, perhaps reflecting the fractured identities and experiences of individuals navigating a rapidly changing world. This repurposed chair invites us to question the status quo and to find beauty and meaning in the unexpected.