This year represents the 100th anniversary of legendary artist Robert Rauschenberg’s birth. To mark the occasion, the Alliance for the Arts is screening “Taking Venice” at 7 p.m. on November 13th. The documentary reveals how a team of U.S. insiders allegedly pressured the Venice Biennale to confer the Grand Prize in Painting on Rauschenberg in 1964. Rauschenberg was the first American and youngest artist to receive the life-changing and career-defining award.
Jade Dellinger, the director of the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida SouthWestern State College, will introduce the film and answer questions following the screening.
Admission to this event is free.
MORE INFORMATION:
Robert Rauschenberg was born October 22, 1925, in Port Arthur, Texas.
He made Captiva his home and the epicenter of his artistic pursuits in 1970 and maintained his residence and studio there until his death in 2008.
Rauschenberg is widely considered to be the most consequential American artist of the last half of the 20th century.
Rauschenberg’s groundbreaking vision, transforming everyday life into art, continues to inspire artists around the world and resonates deeply with Southwest Florida’s creative community, where he lived and worked for decades.
“Taking Venice” follows Washington insider Alice Denney, curator Alan Solomon, and art dealer Leo Castelli as they navigate the politics of nationalism and culture to secure the Grand Prize in Painting for Rauschenberg.
The Venice Biennale is often called the “Olympics of Art.”
“Amei Wallach’s latest documentary feature is truly the most in-depth and entertaining film ever made about internationally renowned artist, longtime local Captiva Island resident and Florida Southwestern State College’s Gallery namesake, Bob Rauschenberg,” said Dellinger.
The documentary will be screened in the Art House Cinema at the Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Boulevard, Fort Myers.
Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more on Rauschenberg’s lasting legacy in the world of art and here in Fort Myers, read/hear, “Robert Rauschenberg influenced the way artists think about and create art while putting Fort Myers on the art world map.”
The Alliance for the Arts is celebrating 50 years as a nonprofit community visual and performing arts center located in the heart of Fort Myers
The Alliance campus and galleries are open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.
For more information, call 239-939-2787, visit the Alliance at www.ArtInLee.org, find it on Facebook, MeetUp and Instagram.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
