Picador has just reissued one of my favorite art books of my college days. What was once called “Off the Wall Robert Rauschenberg and the Art World of Our Time” is now called “Off the Wall A Portrait of Robert Rauschenberg”. Frankly the new title means nothing – the book is so well written – and written in a way that does not talk down to its audience nor does it assume some secret knowledge of the art world.
I re-read my older version and the read the newer version this week and the book is changed very little (a new chapter is added to the end but it’s hardly critical – like bonus tracks on older records released on cd). Tomkins was at the ground floor of RR and Jasper John’s early careers – and it shows. There is a full understanding of the art world as a whole at the cross roads of the end of abstract expressionism and what would come next. Granted no artist hold on to the zeitgiest of the art world forever, and in RR’s case some of his later work doesn’t hold my attention as well as the Combines and Silkscreen images (I do like the box pieces though).
That said, with all the energy revolving around RR right now its a great time to read or reread before heading to new york for the show – you could take the slower train and get a good bit of the book finished before the Met opens.