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Portrait Of The Artist As A Generous Man
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Published: May 16, 2008
Most people knew Robert Rauschenberg as one of the great creative geniuses of our time. What most didn't know is that the famed pop artist, who died at his Captiva Island home this week, also enriched his adopted home state in transformational ways.
Take Rauschenberg's impact on the University of South Florida. In the early 1970s, Rauschenberg developed a relationship with Graphicstudio, which works with artists to produce limited-edition lithographs, prints and sculptures. The studio helped Rauschenberg make his work accessible worldwide and, in return, the collaboration helped USF develop an international reputation in the fine arts community.
In Fort Myers, the small art gallery at Edison College blossomed from Rauschenberg's benevolence. Lee County's prevention programs for domestic and sexual abuse also received a limited-edition piece from the artist every year to help raise money. And last year, when an AIDS treatment center in Fort Myers was in financial trouble, Rauschenberg came to its rescue. It's now called the Bob Rauschenberg Center for Living.
Nowhere was his touch felt more than on Captiva, where he quietly purchased neighboring homes and allowed some of his elderly neighbors to remain in their homes for free. All told, he kept 35 acres and 1,000 feet of beachfront out of the hands of commercial developers.
Rauschenberg's brilliance allowed him to see art in the mundane - a bed sheet, a discarded tire, some old nail polish. His style and point of view influenced the world of design, fashion and media - including the newspapers and magazines you read today.
Still, it's worth noting that Rauschenberg's legacy includes a full embrace of his adopted home of Florida.
Perhaps such devotion will inspire other transplants to make the same strong commitment.
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