Larry B. Wright, master printer, shares his memories of the scene at 381 Lafayette and the art world in New York City when he began working with Bob in the 1970s. He reflects on the perception of Rauschenberg's work as political, specifically the illustrations for Dante's Inferno, offering his own interpretation of the work from a standpoint of the materials used. He describes the technical set-up involved in opening his own print shop in New York City and helping establish the silkscreen studio for Rauschenberg in Captiva. He describes Rauschenberg's world at Captiva, from the artistic and social environment to the physical landscape. He offers detailed descriptions of the technical process behind a number of pieces that he printed with Rauschenberg, including Hiccups, Trojan Wedge, Half a Grandstand, Hydrangea Reflex, Tower Terrain, Salvage, Statue of Liberty. He shares what he learned from Bob that he carries forward in his own teaching
Artistic collaboration; Art--Political aspects; Prints--Technique; Artists; Lower East Side (New York, N.Y.); Captiva Island (Fla.); Wright, Larry; Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008; Trisha Brown Company; School of Visual Arts (New York, N.Y.)
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2015
Physical Description
62 pages
Note (Biographical)
Larry B. Wright was born in Brooklyn, NY and is a master printer and professor at the School of Visual Arts, New York. He is the principal of Larry B. Wright Art Productions, New York, a fine art printing and fabrication studio, which has worked with well-known artists and gallerists such as Leo Castelli, Larry Poons, Robert Rauschenberg, Art Spiegelman, and Andy Warhol. In addition to a selection of Rauschenberg's print projects, the studio also facilitated collaborations between Rauschenberg and choreographer Trisha Brown. In the late 1970s, Wright worked in Rauschenberg's studio in Captiva, Florida, helping to set up the artist's photography and screen-printing workspace
Note
Interviewed by Sara Sinclair and Christine Frohnert on May 13, 2015
Note (Provenance)
Larry B. Wright, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2019