This picture is of a Robert Rauschenberg that I learned about in school. This is not the artist I knew.
The photo below is the Bob I knew working on a litho series where he painted diazo onto plates. I proofed and editioned some of the prints on this project. We (the printers in the shop) knew that Bob was coming by whenever the Jack Daniels and fresh ice showed up in the kitchen area. When a project was going to start, a TV set would be installed in the artist studio. One time, I was sent down to Sears to buy a ping-pong table for him to use. My friend Stan was later stuck with it in his part of the shop where he continually had to move it out of his way.
I did a whole lot of the edition screen printing for the Samarkand Stitches set (below). Screen printing wasn't my specialty, so I sort of half-assed it in order to match all the crazy unique patterns within the photo images that we did during the proofing session. When I thought it was all done, I stripped the image and then came a decision to increase the edition when more of the silk fabric became available (it was hand woven in the communist Russian state of Samarkand). I had moved onto some litho project so Stan was given the chore of matching what I did in order to recreate the proofs. He didn't say much when I showed him the odd stencils and masks I had used, but I know he didn't have much fun finishing it.
The memorial had the familiar (to me) presenters, Darryl Pottorf, Sidney Felsen, Joni Weyl, Stan Grinstein and his daughters. There were others new to me-Bernice Rose, Paul Schimmel. I never interacted with them during my time at Gemini. Ed Ruscha imitated Bob's wheezing cackle of a laugh that we would hear cutting through the shop noise. Adele Lutz gave a stream of thought collection of words peppered with her personal musings. She defined the interpretations and uses of the word "cool" in a way I've never considered before. It was nice to hear Irving Blum, he is a cornerstone of the LA gallery scene and has the backroom stories to prove it. Kat Eppie participated in many of Bob's performance pieces as well as his events. She played a song dedicated to Bob on the flute that, while short, effectively illustrated the creative process according to Bob.Dickie Landry blew some free-association riffs on the sax as early (50s) performance pieces were projected.It was good to see printers I worked with- Jim, Carmen Schilaci, Stan Baden, Tony Zepeda and some that preceded me that I've been fortunate to get to know- Dan Freeman, George Page, Tim Isham, Barbara Thomason.
Doug Chrismas, Peter Gould, Frank Gehry...I haven't seen them in too long. I felt bad to have to reunite with everyone for a memorial, but at the same time, it was comforting to be together with all of them. Everyone had a Bob story, few of them repeatable in public. I learned just how many people in our corner of the country were not only friends of Bob but felt a part of the Rauschenberg family. He treated everyone the same, made no distinctions for anything, whatsoever. He had a gravitational quality when it came to personalities he liked, was always open to new ideas and was never shy with an opinion. I feel privileged to have been able to work with Bob. He listened to my suggestions and even changed the name of a litho because of one. He was a regular guy, heart o' gold, raconteur, he even played the role of sage on occasion. When he saw us struggling to move the large brass sheets used for the Borealis Shares in an effort to avoid fingerprints, Bob told us to grip the material firmly- any prints, or markings were "free drawing"...sort of a bonus, the way he saw it. That pretty much exemplifies him as to the way we the printers knew him, a seasoned professional with the ability to see the utility of things we ignore and the willingness to accept things he could not completely control.
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