Jasper Johns and Rauschenberg Box

I was more interested in the love relationship that the two artists had, regardless if they are gay or straight. They were very close and secretive about their love affair and were in a world all to themselves. Johns has said, "Our world was very limited, I think we were very dependent on one another". They probably kept their relationship a secret to protect them from others opinions which would have most likely been negative or perhaps violent. The inside of my box is a somewhat barren and simple landscape that depicts the two artists own world that is separate from society and others. The outside of the box is a labyrinth that leads onto the lid where you enter the small environment. My idea for the maze came from a poem by Hart Crane who Rauschenberg admired and related to who influenced his art. A quote from the poem is "a labryinth submersed where each sees only his dim past reversed". This could allude to Rauschenbergs old feelings towards his relationship with Johns and how it is hard to reach back and remember past experiences or relationships.

Hope Chest

I want my box to show Rauschenberg and Johns' secretive relationship and how they interacted with society. The outside of the box will act as a "cage" through the images of tall buildings, trees, or silhouttes people making bars along the outside. On the inside will be a dreamy landscape or image such as a mountain or ocean scene. I will use found objects such as perhaps an old key, sea glass, or other "calm" objects. The box itself will be in an organic shape and it has to have a big opening so that people can interact with the items inside. I want it to have a lid so that the viewers will be suprised at the difference between the "cold" exterior and the more soothing interior. Along with the readings I was also influenced by the Bjork song "hyperballad" about a couple that hide at the top of a mountain to feel safe. I think that Rauschenberg and Johns felt pressured to not share their relationship and that they perceived themselves as outsideres, whether their peers would have accepted them or not.