Robert Rauschenbergs »Erased de Kooning Drawing« (1953)

Erased de Kooning Drawing is a work of art that radically challenges the definition of art and the understanding of authorship. Three American artists were involved in its creation in 1953: Robert Rauschenberg erased a drawing by Willem de Kooning, who had reluctantly given his consent. Jasper Johns labeled it during its first presentation, which significantly contributed to its perception as an independent work. The transformed sheet was viewed in the 1950s as Neo-Dada, in the 1960s as the beginning of conceptual art, and in the 1980s as a breakthrough into postmodernism. Numerous artists referenced the work, and Rauschenberg himself revisited it multiple times. It proved to be a test case for definitions of modernism, literalism, and postmodernism. Gregor Stemmrich's knowledgeable theoretical examination highlights the enduring relevance of the work for the theory of images, index, trace, allegory, and the question of appropriation. Gregor Stemmrich (*1953, Soest) has been a Professor of Art and Art History at NYU Abu Dhabi since 2015. Previously, he held professorships at the Free University of Berlin and the Academy of Fine Arts Dresden. His publications focus on the development of art after 1945: he is a co-editor of the interviews and texts of Lawrence Weiner and Dan Graham and publishes on abstract art, minimal art, and conceptual art.