Sometimes I have taken photographs and just felt so excited that I could barely hold the camera steady, and the photo was boring.
Robert RauschenbergThis was my first encounter with art as art (he saw 'Pinky' painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence and 'The Blue Boy" painted by Thomas Gainborough).. ..somebody actually MADE those paintings.. ..(it) was the first time I realized you could be an artist.
Robert RauschenbergBut I was in awe of the painters; I mean I was new in New York, and I thought the painting that was going on here was just unbelievable
Robert RauschenbergThere was a whole language that I could never make function for myself; it revolved around words like 'tortured', 'struggle'. 'pain'.. .I could never see these qualities in paint - I could see them in life and art that illustrates life. But I could not see such conflicts in the materials and I knew that it had to be in the attitude of the painter.
Robert Rauschenberg