Untitled (Hoarfrost)

In 1974 Rauschenberg began making works for his Hoarfrost series by combining elements of photography, collage and print-making. Working from a technique he had adapted in the late 1950s, the artist superimposed photographic images from a variety of sources onto delicate fabrics and then overlayed a gauze-like transparent cloth over certain areas, often with other images. In the present work, Rauschenberg has combined disparate images characteristic of the series: aerial views of a city, sections of a crossword puzzle, a picture of an automobile. Rendered in an evanescent quality, the collage suggests the impermanence of the countless mass-produced images of popular culture.