Fuses (1974)

Rauschenberg made the prototypes for this series, along with those for his Pages series (1974), at Moulin à Papier Richard de Bas in Ambert, France in 1973. For this series, Rauschenberg designed molds into which he poured colored paper pulp and incorporated images that he silkscreened onto Japanese rice paper. The Fuses were published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, in collaboration with Marius Peraudeau, director of the French paper mill. While the Pages are mostly white, the Fuses are brightly colored.