Shades was Rauschenberg’s first illustrated book, but instead of paper, it is constructed from an aluminum frame holding a fixed title page and five movable plates of plexiglass. The artist lithographed numerous images taken from newspapers and magazines on each panel. When the square plates are inserted into the base—in one of six million possible permutations—the work becomes three-dimensional and its many transparent layers are visible in the glow from a small light bulb attached in the back.
Gallery label from 2021
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Medium
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Multiple with six lithographs on plexiglass panels: one mounted permanently and five interchangeably in a slotted aluminum frame, and illuminated by an intermittent light bulb
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Dimensions
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composition (each, irreg.): 14 x 14" (35.5 x 35.5 cm); other (panel): 14 x 14" (35.5 x 35.5 cm); other (box): 15 1/8 x 14 1/2 x 11 3/4" (38.4 x 36.8 x 29.9 cm)
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Publisher
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Universal Limited Art Editions, West Islip, New York
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Printer
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Universal Limited Art Editions, West Islip, New York
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Edition
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24
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Credit
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Gift of the Celeste and Armand Bartos Foundation
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Object number
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291.1964.1-6
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Copyright
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© 2023 Robert Rauschenberg Foundation
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Department
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Drawings and Prints
