Park/ROCI Mexico

“One of the reasons that I am so thankful that I’m an artist is that the language of being an artist works anywhere. There is no country that is so rich or so poor that they don’t have an artistic culture. Artists always understand each other…I even feel restricted with the world as small as it is already. I’m trying to take advantage of as much as possible.” - Robert Rauschenberg, “A Conversation about Art and ROCI, ” 1990 Park/ROCI MEXICO was created in Mexico City by American artist Robert Rauschenberg as a part of his global art tour ROCI – Rauschenberg Overseas Cultural Interchange. Rauschenberg traveled to 22 countries, creating art by using local artistic traditions and materials. In Park/ROCI MEXICO, the vibrant colors and rich religious culture of Mexico are made visible in the crimson poinsettia doilies, which have been arranged to resemble a “Dia de los Muertos” skull. The rest of the canvas is starkly black and white – based on the collage of Rauschenberg’s own photographs and those he found in Mexico, screen printed on the canvas to create a complex rhythm with the poinsettia skeleton. This work would have traveled to exhibitions in the 21 other countries visited by ROCI, creating an artistic dialogue between nations by presenting Rauschenberg’s exploration of Mexican artistic and visual culture.