The Tower

Artist Robert Rauschenberg (1925 - 2008)

Date1957

MediumOil, paper, fabric, tin cans, painted wood, broom, umbrella, rubber, wire, metal, dried turf, cigar box, electric lightbulbs, wiring, and spray enamel paint on wooden structure

Dimensions119 1/2 in. × 45 in. × 35 in. (303.5 × 114.3 × 88.9 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2014.6

Accession number 2014.6

On View

Not on view

Collections

LGBTQ+ Artists

ProvenancePaul Taylor, New York, NY. (Betty Parsons Gallery, New York, NY), 1976; purchased by Victor Ganz [1913-1987] and Sally Ganz [1912-1997], New York, NY, 1976; by descent to Kate Ganz, New York, NY, 1997; (Christie's, New York, NY), May 11, 2011, not sold; (Arcelle Art LLC, New York, NY), 2011; purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2014
Label TextIn this work, the artist assembled two human-like figures from everyday objects. On the left, a white half-orb floats atop a painted broom. On the right, a stack of discarded side tables supports an open umbrella. Rauschenberg called these assemblages "combines": they bring together seemingly unrelated things to spark new ways of looking. At the same time, they point to the abundance of everyday stuff consumed by postwar Americans.

Originally made for the set of a dance performance inspired by the Adonis and Persephone myth, the figures could represent these two characters. Or perhaps they reference the artist's own life: during this period, Rauschenberg was intimately involved with fellow artist Jasper Johns, whose work is shown nearby. "We gave each other permission," Rauschenberg once said. Together, as a towering pair, they found new ways of working beyond the gestural, Abstract Expressionist style of painting that dominated American art in this period.