Historic Detour (Scenarios)
To create this piece, the artist transferred digital color images—produced using an inkjet printer—to polylaminate panels designed to mimic tin. The powerful directionality implied by the red arrow at the center and the "BUMP" sign above suggest an interruption in the linear progression of time. If the Neo-Classical sculpture of a female sphinx to the left of the arrow points to the historical, the inclusion on the right of a barometer—a scientific instrument used to measure air pressure to help forecast the weather—speaks to humankind’s constant efforts at reading the future. The sense of an uneven movement through time is confirmed by the work’s title: Historic Detour (Scenario).
Artwork Details
- Title: Historic Detour (Scenarios)
- Artist: Robert Rauschenberg (American, Port Arthur, Texas 1925–2008 Captiva Island, Florida)
- Date: 2006
- Medium: Inkjet print mounted to aluminum composite panel (diptych)
- Dimensions: Each panel: 85 1/2 × 60 1/4 in. (217.2 × 153 cm)
Complete diptych - including frame: 85 1/2 in. × 10 ft. 1/2 in. (217.2 × 306.1 cm) - Classification: Works on Paper
- Credit Line: Gift of the Maria and Conrad Janis Estate, 2024
- Object Number: 2024.88.19a, b
- Rights and Reproduction: © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.