Retroactive II tote bag

This sturdy cotton tote bag bears Rauschenberg's iconic artwork Retroactive II, 1964 on both sides and has been designed especially for the Robert Rauschenberg exhibition at Tate Modern.

Retroactive II is one of Rauschenberg’s most celebrated silkscreen artworks and is full of visual urgency: images of John F. Kennedy (who was assassinated just after Rauschenberg ordered the screen), a parachuting NASA astronaut, and industrial cues such as machine parts all create a sense of immediacy and American power. It is one of around 80 screenprints, Rauschenberg made between the autumn of 1962 and the spring of 1964.

One of the most influential figures of twentieth- century art, Robert Rauschenberg was a pioneering artist who ultimately challenged perceptions of what art could be. Born in Texas in 1925 he later moved to New York, where he created many of his best-known works. Endlessly curious and inventive, his work ranged from painting and sculpture to performance and dance. His refusal to accept existing boundaries of what was considered art led him to continually experiment with new techniques, from innovative printing methods to incorporating found objects and detritus in his works. This radical approach prefigured pop art and inspired generations of conceptual artists in the decades that followed.

• Exhibition Robert Rauschenberg
• Dimensions 47 x 35 cm (body)
• Material Cotton