Robert Rauschenberg: A Very Small Club

Robert Rauschenberg is one of the best-known artists of the 20th century, in part because he never stopped exploring new mediums and styles. His work with new technology, however, is often overlooked. In 1960, a chance meeting with Bell Labs engineer Billy Klüver led them to eventually co-found Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), a nonprofit that paired artists with scientists and engineers to use the most cutting-edge new technologies. But E.A.T.’s projects were not always a critical success.

In this first episode of the season, we explore how artists and scientists approach experimentation, failure, and perseverance in similar ways and hear about a watershed event, 9 Evenings: Theatre & Engineering. Alongside archival interviews with Rauschenberg, MoMA chief curator at large and publisher Michelle Kuo and cognitive-studies scientist Xiaodong Lin-Siegler weigh in.

Liked hearing us? We want to hear from you! Take our audience survey.

The Getty Patron Program is a proud sponsor of this podcast.

Additional music from “Variations VII” written by John Cage courtesy of Henmar Press, Inc.