1: Indispensable
This study of Rauschenberg will doubtless make itself pretty much indispensable in the literature on the artist. It's a brilliant study- Joseph is in command of the literature on the topic, demonstrates a great deal of theoretical sophistication, as well as showing a lot of sensitivity to the works and their context.
Joseph's contention is to explore Rauschenberg's work in relation to the Neo-avant-garde, seeking to show that his work (along with his colleague John Cage) was neither a farcical repetition of 1920s Dada (ie jaded attempts to "shock" the viewer), nor was it an ironic casting-off of the avant-garde project in favour of a capitulation to commodity capitalism (ie through his pop culture references and so on). Instead, Joseph argues- convincingly- that Rauschenberg (and Cage) sought to escape the tyranny of the self- the "ego" of Absract Expressionism, in order to open up perception to differentiation and multiplicity- an attempt to open up a space beyond the totalised structures of late capitalism. (Joseph's concerns give away his being an ex-student of Benjamin Buchloh- hence these particularly Frankfurt School concerns). So for Joseph, Rauschenberg's White Paintings, or his Tire Print with John Cage, were not simply juvenile pranks, nor farcical, worn-out shock tactics, but serious attempts to disclocate habitual modes of perception and cognition- in this way, Rauschenberg both differs from, and continues the avant-garde project of political change.
Joseph makes a good case- in particular, his first chapter, on Rauschenberg and Cage, where he examines their interest in temporality and flux in relation to the ideas of Bergson, is quite brilliant. But the level of discussion is sustained throughout- it's a compelling and fascinating read which will doubtless provoke a great deal of thought.
As you would expect from the MIT Press, its not a study for the lay reader- the usual phalanx of thinkers are brought to bear- Foucault, Deleuze, Bataille and the like- although Joseph draws on them judiciously, without detracting from the focus of his study. In fact its very readable indeed- Joseph hasn't succumbed (yet) to the puffed-up rhetorical excesses of some of his October colleagues.
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