Remembering Robert Rauschenberg

Robert Rauschenberg, one of the 20th century’s most legendary artists, died May 12. Rauschenberg collaborated with modern dance pioneer Merce Cunningham to design the décor for the world premier of XOVER at the Hopkins Center (in photo). About his connections to the Dartmouth community, the Howard Gilman Director of the Jeff James says, “Rauschenberg was a resident artist here in the winter of 1963, the Hop’s very first year. Hop audiences and Dartmouth students in those days saw the work of a young iconoclast just being discovered, and by last fall we could see a full-stage canvas and costumes by an artist who, by then, was generally acknowledged as one of the creative giants of our time.” XOVER was performed in October 2007 during the Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s week-long residency on campus, which was supported by the Marion and Frederick ’53 Whittemore Distinguished Arts Series Fund and the Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Endowment.

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