Poster for Peace, 1971

Robert Rauschenberg’s edition Poster for Peace (1971) combines photographic imagery, newspaper fragments, handwritten instructions and graphic elements in a deliberately open-ended composition. Images of telephones, a skull, a bird and a landscape are juxtaposed with empty spaces and handwritten prompts, inviting the viewer to add newspaper material to the work.
Created in the context of Rauschenberg’s longstanding political and antiwar engagement, the work was published in 1971 for the National Peace Action Coalition. By leaving parts of the composition intentionally unfinished, Rauschenberg turns the poster into an interactive statement, allowing each viewer to incorporate fragments of current events and make the work their own.