the beginning of conceptual art, and in the 1980s saw it as a departure into postmodernism. Numerous artists referenced the work and it became a touchstone in Rauschenberg's oeuvre. Gregor Stemmrich outlines its status as a litmus test for the definitions of modernism, literalism and postmodernism, and demonstrates its continuing relevance for the theory of the image and the question of appropriation. GREGOR STEMMRICH (*1953, Soest) is Professor of Art and Art History at NYU Abu Dhabi since 2015. His main focus is on modern and contemporary art. Previously, he was Professor at Freie Universität Berlin and Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden. He edited the interviews and writings of Lawrence Weiner as well as Dan Graham, and has published extensively on abstract, conceptual and minimal art.