robert rauschenberg

 

Robert Rauschenberg

 

Robert Rauschenberg released ‘Signs’ in June of 1970. In the image we can see a lot of controversial pictures, some based around politics and others popular culture of the time. We see both the Kennedy brothers, who were both shot in the 60’s. We see Janis Joplin who was known for her controversial take on music (who sadly died a few months after the image was released). The image also contains Martin Luther King, who is obviously well known for tackling racism in the 60’s. The image also contains Vietnamese soldiers who are fighting in the war. The image also includes, astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

The image mainly contains the colours white, black, brown, green, and red. Green and red are complimentary colours, and make each other seem more vibrant, which means in this case, the army green of soldier uniforms, and the red of Joplin stand out the most.

To me this piece of artwork shows the contrast between the tragedies and the victories of the 60’s, and in this picture the bad seems to outweigh the good, and to me that is presented in the lack of bright colour and light.