Drawing and Painting, Rauschenberg and Sikander

Robert Rauschenberg was an American painter who had a major influence in the Pop Art movement.  He was a constant innovator and improviser, Rauschenberg moved from style to style and medium to medium, blurring the lines between painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, and even performance and dance. Rauschenberg had extremely inventive paintings, he would incorporate silkscreens, everyday images and objects in a loose, spontaneous style. By making use of non- traditional materials and questioning distinction between art and everyday life Rauschenberg was able to make a large impact on the Pop Art era. 

Robert Rauschenberg. Windward. 1963. Oil and Silkscreened ink on canvas, 8' x 5'10"

Robert Rauschenberg Retroactive I, 1964, Oil and silkscreen ink on canvas, 84 x 60" 

Robert Rauschenberg

Shahzia Sikander was born in 1969 in Lahore, Pakistan. Sikander specializes in Indian and Persian miniature painting, a traditional style that is both highly stylized and disciplined. While becoming an expert in this technique, which is more often known as an impersonal art form, she imbedded it with a personal context and history.  She blended the Eastern focus on precision and methodology with a Western emphasis on creative, subjective expression. In doing so, Sikander transported miniature painting into the realm of contemporary art. Raised as a Muslim, Sikander is also interested in exploring both sides of the Hindu and Muslim she often combined imagery from both. Mixing of Hindu and Muslim iconography is a parallel to the entanglement of histories of India and Pakistan.  Similar to Robert Rauschenberg she was passionate about her culture and used that to make her art.  Robert Rauschenberg used the combination of his beliefs and politics to create his.

Shahzia Sikander. 1, from 51 Ways of Looking. 2004. Graphite on paper, 12 X 9"

Shahzia Sikander. 12, from 51 Ways of Looking. 2004. Graphite on paper

Shahzia Sikander,51 Ways of Looking, 2004, Graphite on paper