The new frontier goes to Venice : Robert Rauschenberg and the XXXII Venice biennale
department or school: Arts, Faculty of
department or school: Fine Arts, Department of, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Monahan, Laurie Jean
issued: 2010-06-03T23:05:52Z
issued: 1985
related degree: Master of Arts - MA
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: The XXXII Venice Biennale, held in 1964, presented an important moment in the history of American art, for it was the first time that an American painter was awarded the major prize at the prestigious international show. The fact that Robert Rauschenberg captured the most coveted award of the Biennale, the Grand Prize for painting, had major repercussions for the art scene in the United States and the international art community. For the Americans, the prize was "proof" that American art had finally come into its own, that through its struggle for recognition over the European avant-garde, it had finally reached its well-deserved place as leader of the pack. For the Europeans, especially the French, the award represented the "last frontier" of American expansionism--for it seemed that the economic and military dominance of the United States finally had been supplemented by cultural dominance. It seems pertinent to this study to examine the French response in particular, since they had traditionally dominated Biennale prizes. By analyzing the French reviews and responses to the prize, and situating these in a broader political context, I will discuss how the U.S. was perceived as the new cultural leader, despite the vehement objections to the culture of the New Frontier, which seemed to be only Coke bottles, stuffed eagles and carelessly dripped paint. Given the vehement objections engendered by the Rauschenberg victory, it seems somewhat curious that the United States would choose Rauschenberg as a representative of American culture. In order to discover how the pop imagery in the work was linked to the image : of U.S. culture promoted by the U.S. Information Agency (the government agency responsible for the show), it is necessary to analyze the cultural and intellectual debates of the early 1960s. Rejecting earlier notions that high art should remain separate from mass culture, a prominent group of intellectuals argued for a "new sensibility" in art which would emb…
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/25472
note: T H E NEW F R O N T I E R GOES TO V E N I C E : ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG AND T H E X X X I I V E N I C E B I E N N A L E By L A U R I E J E A N MONAHAN B. A . , W e s t e r n W a s h i n g t o n U n i v e r s i t y , 1 9 8 1 A T H E S I S S U B M I T T E D IN P A R T I A L F U L F I L L M E N T OF T H E R E Q U I R E M E N T S FOR T H E DEGREE OF MASTER OF A R T S i n T H E F A C U L T Y OF GRADUATE S T U D I E S ( D e p a r t m e n t o f F i n e A r t s ) We a c c e p t t h i s t h e s i s a s c o n f o r m i n g t o t h e r e q u i r e d s t a n d a r d T H E U N I V E R S I T Y OF B R I T I S H COLUMBIA O c t o b e r 1 9 8 5 C o p y r i g h t L a u r i e J e a n M o n a h a n , 1 9 8 5 In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requirements f o r an advanced degree a t the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree t h a t the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and study. I f u r t h e r agree t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e copying of t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by h i s o r her r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s understood t h a t c o p y i n g or p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l not be allowed without my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . Department of Fine Arts The U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia 2075 Wesbrook P l a c e Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 Date October 12, 1985 A B S T R A C T T h e X X X I I V e n i c e B i e n n a l e , h e l d i n 1 9 6 4 , p r e s e n t e d a n i m p o r t a n t m oment i n t h e h i s t o r y o f A m e r i c a n a r t , f o r i t was t h e f i r s t t i m e t h a t a n A m e r i c a n p a i n t e r was a w a r d e d t h e m a j o r p r i z e a t t h e p r e s t i g i o u s i n t e r n a t i o n a l s h o w . T h e f a c t t h a t R o b e r t R a u s c h e n b e r g…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0096479
language: eng
degree discipline: Fine Arts
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/25472