Christopher Rauschenberg's Top Ten

Chris, my thoughts are with you and your family as you remember your father, Robert Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 — May 12, 2008).





Christopher Rauschenberg is a photographer and curator who lives in Portland, Oregon.


My favorite 10 artists who are great and have made me wait too long for their next work:

10) Federico Fellini (18 years) Fellini's last film Voice of the Moon (starring Roberto Begnini) was made 18 years ago and hasn't been released in any form in the US. This isn't his fault (he died in 1993) but how can it be??? The man was an icon of film genius - he penetrated our consciousness so thoroughly that we use the adjective felliniesque. This is ridiculous.

9) Chrissie Hynde (6 years and counting) She blamed the previous long gap between Pretenders CDs on her label but she's on her own label now and it's been 6 years so far.

8) Milos Forman (7 years) I can't really fault a filmmaker for a long gap because film is too complicatedly collaborative but I felt well rewarded by Goya's Ghosts, (although absolutely none of the critics liked it).

7) Lewis Nordan (11 years or 8 years and counting) Wolf Whistle is such a masterpiece and all of his books are delightful. It's been 11 years since his last novel, Lightning Song, and 8 years since his strange memoir, Boy With Loaded Gun.

6) Was/Not Was (11 years) They put out 2 brilliant albums in 1998 and 1990 and I had given up on them by the time their Hank Williams CD came out in 1997. Startlingly, they just came out with a new CD.

5) Kate Bush (12 years) Her new album is wonderful (Pi is delicious) but 12 years sure is a long wait....

3 & 4) Gary Larson and Bill Watterson (13 years each so far) I know I should give up on these guys but the Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes were so great that I can't help but wait for one of them to re-emerge with something brilliant.

2) Ayub Ogada (15 years so far) His gorgeous first CD, "En Mana Kuoyo," came out in 1993 and I'm still waiting for a second one.

1) David Rhodes (33 years), author of The Last Fair Deal Going Down (1972), Easter House (1974) and Rock Island Line (1975), 3 incredible novels looooong out of print. Find them and read them immediately. His new novel is coming out this fall!!! I am so excited!!!