Story of an Erasure, by Devon Balwit

Erased de Kooning Drawing, by Robert Rauschenberg (USA), 1953. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Story of an Erasure *

I.
Robert Rauschenberg was nervous,
standing in front of de Kooning’s door,
clutching a bottle of Jack Daniels.

Don’t be home, he prayed, but he was.
What he wanted was a de Kooning drawing,
not to hang, he explained, but to erase.

Collectors were snapping up de Koonings
for unprecedented sums, a de Kooning 
had just sold for $10,000, even a sketch had value.

I kept trying to show that it wouldn’t be
destruction, although there was a chance
if it didn’t work out that it’d be a waste.

The painter wasn’t going to make it easy
It has to be something I’d miss—he thought--
several female figures from different angles

It took two months, and even then, wasn’t
completely erased. I wore out a lot of erasers.
The result—a blank sheet bearing a few smudges.

You heard of it by word of mouth, often described 
as the artist’s most controversial although
much of his work questioned the nature of art.

It is labeled an oedipal act, 
but Rauschenberg maintained that never the point
It’s not a negation, it’s a celebration.

II.
Robert Rauschenberg,
nervous in front of de Kooning,
clutching Jack.

What he wanted 
was a drawing,
to erase.

A de Kooning 
had just sold for $10,000: 
even a sketch had value.

Not destruction, 
though if it didn’t work 
a waste.

The painter:
It has to be 
something I’d miss--

It took two months: 
The result—a blank sheet 
bearing a few smudges.

You heard it described 
as controversial, 
questioning art,

an oedipal act, 
but, Rauschenberg maintained, 
not negation, celebration.

III.
Robert Rauschenberg,
de Kooning,

a drawing,
to erase.

A de Kooning 
had value.

If it didn’t work, 
a waste.

The painter:
something I’d miss--

Two months: 
a blank sheet, a few smudges.

Described 
as controversial, 

Rauschenberg maintained, 
celebration.

Devon Balwit

*Created though an erasure of Abigail Cain’s ARTSY editorial July 14th, 2017. Click here to view original.

The poet says, "I saw this review on Robert Rauschenberg's erasure of a de Kooning  and thought it would a cool challenge to make an erasure from Abigail Cain's story about the erasure. Then I thought it would be a challenge to see how much of my poem I could erase and still retain the essential story. Here is the poem."

Devon Balwit writes in Portland, OR. She has five chapbooks out or forthcoming: How the Blessed Travel (Maverick Duck Press); Forms Most Marvelous (dancing girl press); In Front of the Elements(Grey Borders Books), Where You Were Going Never Was (Grey Borders Books); and The Bow Must Bear the Brunt (Red Flag Poetry). More of her individual poems can be found here as well as in The Cincinnati Review, The Stillwater Review, Red Earth Review, The Inflectionist; Glass: A Journal of Poetry; Noble Gas Quarterly; Muse A/Journal, and more.