Abstract
Robert Rauschenberg's Monogram is one of the Moderna Museet's most cherished artworks, but how did it end up in the museum's collection? How was it received, and how did Monogram go from being art to being a brand?
This article is a kind of »Combine« in itself, a combination of different perspectives. Business administration provides the academic focus, while the topic belongs more to art history or, to be more precise, art sociology. It is not too unlike a stuffed goat on a painting: the two traditions differ considerably, particularly in their approaches to conducting research. The interpretative tradition of business administration uses, for example, theory as a springboard, as a tool for understanding and interpreting as well as for saying something important.
The purpose of this article is therefore not to map out the history of Monogram or to offer an analysis of the artwork itself, but instead to provide a reading and an analysis of the history from a combination of perspectives, primarily an art sociological one combined with a business administration one. Such a mélange falls in line with Rauschenberg's own approach; it is a sort of academic »Combine«. Furthermore, through his involvement with Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), Rauschenberg is truly one of the major actors in the field of »arts and business«, thus making this combination of perspectives – of art sociology and business administration – a particularly good fit.