Interview Transcripts research guide
This guide contains digitized transcripts from the Interviews series of the Robert Rauschenberg papers. Materials provided in this guide are for reference and research purposes only. For reproduction requests, email the archives.
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Overview
Rauschenberg's studio maintained printed, typewritten, or photocopied interview transcripts and associated materials, including drafts, notes, correspondence, and subsequent publications, spanning 1961-2005. Interviews are identified by interviewer, title, and publication, if known. Unpublished interviews are typically referred to as 鈥減ersonal interviews.鈥 Interviews described as 鈥渜uestions 鈥︹ consist of questions submitted to Rauschenberg in writing along with Rauschenberg鈥檚 written responses.听
Non-exhaustive lists of keywords indicate personal names, artwork or series titles, techniques, and/or subjects that receive particular or significant attention, when not already identified in the interview title. More general terms are prioritized over individual names or specialized terms: (e.g. 鈥減erformance鈥 may refer to activities, organizations, or individuals related to performance art, theater, and/or dance).听Notes provide additional context or information where relevant. See also the Robert Rauschenberg Bibliography for full citations of resulting publications.
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Access Note
Interview materials are viewed via PDFs. The contents of each folder in the Rauschenberg papers Interviews series have been digitized as a single PDF, with the exception of the interview transcripts physically bound in a single volume (digitized as separate files). Larger file sizes may take longer to view and/or download.
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Transcripts
1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s
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Keywords:听Combines, painting
Note: Andr茅 Parinaud incorrectly states that 鈥淯n document: un 'misfit' de la peinture new-yorkaise se confesse鈥 was published in 1962; it appeared in the May 10, 1961 issue of听Arts听(Paris). English-language translation provided by Antonio Homem.
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Keywords: Black paintings, Red paintings, White paintings
Note: Transcript of statement given by Robert Rauschenberg for a series of interviews with artists in The Popular Image听exhibition at the Washington Gallery of Modern Art, April 18-June 2, 1963, and later published in Billy Kl眉ver,听On Record: 11 福利视频s 1963 (New York: Experiments in Art and Technology, 1981).
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Seckler, Dorothy / Oral History / Archives of American Art, 1965
Keywords: abstract expressionism, Black paintings, John Cage, Dante drawings, Map Room II, New York City, Oracle, painting, performance, sculpture, silkscreens
Note: Interview conducted as part of the Archives of Art Oral History Program, initiated in 1958.
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Seckler, Dorothy Gees / "The 福利视频 Speaks: Robert Rauschenberg" / Art in America, 1966
Keywords: abstract expressionism, Black paintings, John Cage, Dante drawings, Map Room II, Oracle, performance
Note: Published article based on the oral history completed by Seckler for the Archives of American Art, 1965.听听Rauschenberg created the cover for this issue of听Art in America听(May-June 1966) (not included in PDF).听
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Rauschenberg Statement / Wednesday Review, WNDT, 1966
Keywords: object art, sculpture
Note:听Includes letter to Robert Rauschenberg requesting permission to feature his work in a film of the 68th American Exhibition held at the Art Institute of Chicago.
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Kostelanetz, Richard / Interview with Robert Rauschenberg, 1966-1967
Keywords: Black Mountain College, childhood and young adulthood, Combines, Factum I & II, Linoleum, Map Room I, Map Room II, Monogram, Oracle, painting, performance, White paintings
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Kostelanetz, Richard / "A Conversation with Robert Rauschenberg" / Partisan Review, 1968
Keywords: Black Mountain College, Combines, Factum I & II,听Monogram, Map Room II, Oracle, painting, performance,听White paintings
Note: Article based on the interviews conducted in 1966-1967. Published in听Partisan Review听35, no. 1 (Winter 1968).听
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O. B. [Bob?] / Personal Interview, 1971
Note: Transcript of a statement by Robert Rauschenberg and conversations between two speakers named Bob.听
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Note: Although the photocopied transcript is dated 1975, the interview appears to have been conducted as a public Q&A the day after the opening of the Robert Rauschenberg in Israel听exhibition at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, May 29-August 3, 1974, where Rauschenberg exhibited Made in Israel听sculptures and Scripture drawings.
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Hopps, Walter and Sue Ginsberg / Personal Interview, 1975
Keywords: animals, childhood, drawing, family, young adulthood
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Smith, Philip / Interview for 鈥淭o and About Robert Rauschenberg鈥 / Arts Magazine, 1976
Keywords: Bed, Currents, E.A.T., Hoarfrost, Jammers
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Diamonstein, Barbaralee / Personal Interviews (excerpts only), 1977-1978
Note: Includes statements used in Inside New York鈥檚 Art World听and an excerpt from a conversation with Diamonstein and Peter Wirth (1978).
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Keywords: Change Inc., Combines, Jammers, New York City, Paris, Venice Biennale
Note: PDF includes multiple drafts as well as photocopy of pages from Inside New York's Art World听(New York: Rizzoli, 1979) containing Diamonstein's introduction and final interview text.
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Harmel, Mark / "Rauschenberg" / Sanibel-Captiva Islander, 1980
Keywords: photography
Note: Rauschenberg鈥檚 first exhibition of photography (Photos In + Out City Limits: Ft. Myers, Florida) was held at the Photographer鈥檚 Gallery, Sanibel Island, Florida, April 20-May 30, 1980.
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Sayag, Alain / 鈥淚nterview with Robert Rauschenberg鈥 / Robert Rauschenberg Photographs, 1981
Keywords: photography
Note: First published in Alain Sayag, Robert Rauschenberg Photographs (New York: Pantheon Books, 1981).听
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Keywords: Greece, Kabal American Zephyr, travel
Note: Includes the English translation and the newspaper clipping of the original article (in Greek).
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Garrels, Gary / 鈥淚nterview with Robert Rauschenberg鈥 / Art New England, 1981
Keywords: Black Mountain College, Boston, In + Out City Limits, Photems, photography
Note: Robert Kaufman also participates in the interview.
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Weiss, Marjorie / 鈥淟owcountry Through the Eyes of an 福利视频鈥 / News + Courier, 1981
Keywords: Charleston, In + Out City Limits, photography
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de Smecchia, Muni / Interview with Robert Rauschenberg (Italian Transcript) / Italian Vogue, 1982
Note: Italian transcript of interview with Robert Rauschenberg for Italian Vogue (Vogue Italia); no听English translation.
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Unidentified / Interview with Robert Rauschenberg / Van Gogh Television, 1983
Keywords: Dirt Shrine, Japanese Clayworks, painting, photography
Note: Terry Van Brunt and Carrie Wilson, co-director of the Terrain Gallery, also participate in the interview.
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Rowes, Barbara / Interview with Robert Rauschenberg / People Magazine, 1983
Keywords (Rauschenberg interview): Black Mountain College, David Byrne / Talking Heads, China, Japan, travel, young adulthood
Keywords (Simons interview): Charlene, Mud Muse, papermaking, paper mill, ROCI听
Note: Transcript of "Side A" includes excerpt from an interview with Riki Simons by an unidentified woman. It is unclear whether a transcription error may have taken place, attributing Rauschenberg's voice to Simons.
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Keywords: ceramics, China, Japan, Japanese Clayworks, Japanese Recreational Clayworks, performance, ROCI, Set and Reset
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Adler, Ed / Personal Interview, 1983
Keywords: 1960s, China, Currents, Hoarfrost, politics, performance, Stoned Moon
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Keywords: The 1/4 Mile, ceramics, China, Hoarfrost, India, Japan, Mud Muse, papermaking, ROCI
Note: Interview was conducted in May 1983 and first published (in Japanese) in听Time with Creators (no official English translation; Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten Publishing, 1984), then reprinted with an introduction by Higashino in the ROCI: Japan听exhibition catalogue (1986). File includes English translation of the text in听ROCI: Japan.
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Raedeke, Paul / 鈥淚nterview with Rauschenberg鈥 / Photo Metro, 1983
Keywords: collage, In + Out City Limits, photography
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Black, L. D. / 鈥淩obert Rauschenberg鈥 / Splash Magazine, 1985
Keywords: Josef Albers, David Byrne / Talking Heads, Janis Joplin, ROCI, Salvage
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Hardy, Thomas W. / Questions on Dante Drawings, 1985
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Mancusi-Ungaro, Carol; Hopps, Walter; Robert Rauschenberg / Group Discussion / Rice Museum, 1985
Keywords: Crucifixion and Reflection, Night Blooming, Rachel Rosenthal
Note: Linda Cathcart, Marti Mayo, Neil Printz, David White, and Terry Van Brunt are also present.
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Keywords: impermanence / permanence, performance
Note: Official transcript of听Nightline broadcast (Show #1100, August 9, 1985).
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Sparks, Esther / Personal Interview, 1985
Keywords: Dante drawings, Glacial Decoy, performance, photography, printmaking, ROCI,听ULAE
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Keywords: Dante drawings, dyslexia, Glacial Decoy, performance, photography, printmaking, ROCI, ULAE, Venezuela, young adulthood
Note: Extended version of 鈥淪parks, Esther / Personal Interview, 1985,鈥 transcribed with slight differences and additional comments about Rauschenberg鈥檚 dyslexia, apparently given at the reception following the Outstanding Achievers with Learning Disabilities Award ceremony (October 30, 1985).
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Keywords: John Cage, China, Japan, papermaking, Xuan Paper Mill, Zen听
Note: Most likely conducted by Michael Brenson as research for article 鈥淲hy Asian Culture Answers the Needs of Western 福利视频s.鈥澨New York Times, April 20, 1986.听
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Keywords: ceramics, Japan, ROCI
Note: The听ROCI Japan exhibition was held November 22鈥揇ecember 28, 1986, at the Setagaya Museum of Art, Tokyo.
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Keywords: Gluts, performance
Note: Rauschenberg built a substitute set for Trisha Brown Dance Company鈥檚 performance of Lateral Pass听at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy, when the arrival of Nancy Graves鈥 original set was delayed.
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Keywords: The 1/4 Mile, Chile, ROCI
Note: The 鈥淢etro tape鈥 transcript is briefly interrupted by the text of an interview with 鈥渟omeone from USA Today, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 20th Century Gallery Opening.鈥 Terry Van Brunt is also involved in the interview transcribed from the Metro tape. Page 17 is missing from the original materials. The interview is dated 鈥1985," but Rauschenberg refers to events (e.g. his set for the performance of听Lateral Pass in Naples) that suggest that the interview actually took place in 1987.
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Keywords: The 1/4 Mile, Monograph
Note: The second half of the file includes a brief transcript of the Rhode Island School of Design RISD Awards (December 9, 1986), comprising the greeting speech by Bob Hughes and remarks by Robert Rauschenberg and James Rosenquist. Following this segment, the traditional interview format is resumed with additional speakers WL (鈥淏ill鈥), KB (鈥淜ay鈥), and Philippe.听
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Keywords: ROCI
Note: Rauschenberg does not speak.
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Keywords: Gluts, New York City, ROCI
Note: Interview conducted for an unidentified architecture magazine. Rauschenberg describes his New York studio at 381 Lafayette Street.
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Keywords: Copperheads, performance, photography,听ROCI, Stockholm
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Keywords: Black Mountain College, childhood and young adulthood, Elastic Carrier (Shiner), Hoarfrost, Kabal American Zephyr, performance, ROCI, Set and Reset
Note: The first half of the file is a transcript of a talk with Corpus Christi students at the Art Museum of South Texas; the second half consists of interviews with David Pickering, 鈥淛C Caller (Times Magazine)鈥; followed by Catherine Childers, KIII-TV; and Diane Finlayson, 鈥淪tate of the Art鈥 program, KKED-PBS Radio.
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Keywords: Gluts, ROCI
Note: Interview briefly involves Terry van Brunt.听
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Keywords: Marcel Duchamp, Elastic Carrier (Shiner), In + Out City Limits, ROCI, Set and Reset
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Note: Brief interview for a quote to use in the press release for the Art Against AIDS fundraising effort benefitting the American Foundation for AIDS Research.
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Keywords: Abba Eban
Note: Transcript of video recorded by Terry Van Brunt.
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Rose, Barbara / Personal Interview, circa 1972
Keywords: abstract expressionism, Bed, Black Mountain College, John Cage, collage, Combines, Erased de Kooning Drawing, Pop Art, sculpture, silkscreens
Note: Transcript filed with cover letter dated April 13, 1987. Barbara Rose wrote and narrated the film American Art in the 1960s (Michael Blackwood, dir., 1972) (referenced in cover letter). Portions of the interview were republished in Barbara Rose and Robert Rauschenberg, Rauschenberg (Vintage, 1987).
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Rosenquist, James / Personal Interview, 1987
Keywords: Andy Warhol
Note: Andy Warhol died on February 22, 1987, shortly before the conversation takes place.
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Kotz, Mary Lynn / 鈥淚nterview with Walter Hopps,鈥 1987
Keywords: Combines, Jasper Johns, performance, Rodeo Palace, Rachel Rosenthal, Spreads, silkscreens, Venice Biennale
Note: Rauschenberg is the subject of the interview but not otherwise involved. Hopps recounts the organization the 1976 retrospective exhibition Robert Rauschenberg听held at the National Collection of Fine Arts (current Smithsonian American Art Museum), Washington, D.C.
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Gercke, Hans / Questions on the Color Blue / Heidelberger Kunstverein, 1988
Keywords: Yves Klein, Picasso
Note: The exhibition听Blau: Farbe der Ferne听was held at Heidelberger Kunstverein, March 2, 1990-May 13, 1990.
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Simmons, Todd / Questions on Graphicstudio / Tampa Tribune, 1989
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Maxwell, Douglas / Extra Questions for Robert Rauschenberg, 1989
Keywords: ROCI, Shiners, Gluts, Urban Bourbon, Transom, Borealis
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Saff, Don, and Unidentified T [Thomas Buehler?] / Personal Interview, 1989
Keywords: ROCI
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Keywords: abstract expressionism, Black Mountain College, Change Inc., E.A.T., painting, performance, ROCI, young adulthood
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Hopps, Walter / Personal Interview, 1991
Keywords: Automobile Tire Print,听Black Mountain College, Black paintings, Jasper Johns, miniature blueprints, Night Blooming, painting, photography, sculpture, Cy Twombly, White paintings
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Peterson, William / Questions on Rachel Rosenthal, 1991
Keywords: performance, Rachel Rosenthal
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McClintic, Miranda / Questions on Marcel Duchamp and the Found Object / Recycling Reality, 1991
Keywords: Black Market, The Construction of Boston, Marcel Duchamp, Jasper Johns, Yves Klein, performance
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Rosenthal, Mark / 鈥淩obert Rauschenberg鈥 / 福利视频s at GEMINI G.E.L., 1991-1992
Keywords: Borealis Shares, Gemini G.E.L., Illegal Tender L.A., silkscreens
Note: Interview was conducted September 22, 1991; the transcript was faxed to Rauschenberg in January 1922, and later included in听福利视频s at Gemini G.E.L.: Celebrating the Twenty-Fifth Year听(New York: Abrams, 1993).听
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Gauger, Budd / Questions on 鈥淥zone鈥 and 鈥淓arth Summit鈥 posters / Toledo Blade, 1992
Keywords: Earth Summit, Last Turn--Your Turn, Ozone
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Yusuf, Nilgin / Questions on Issey Miyake / Marie Claire, 1992
Note: Yusuf's profile of Issey Miyake appeared in the June 1992 issue of听Marie Claire (UK).
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Tracy, Robert / Questions for "Designing for Dance" / French Vogue, 1991-1992
Keywords: Astral Convertible II, Glacial Decoy, performance, Set and Reset
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Sartogo, Domitilla / Questions on Exhibition at the Guggenheim SoHo / L鈥橢spresso, 1992
Keywords: Black Mountain College, John Cage, White paintings
Note:听The exhibition听Robert Rauschenberg: The Early 1950s听was held at the听Guggenheim Museum SoHo, New York, Oct. 24, 1992鈥揓an. 24, 1993.听
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Graieb, Carlos / Questions Related to the S茫o Paulo Bienal / Caderno 2, 1994
Keywords: performance, printmaking, travel
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Lobacheff, Ge贸rgia / Questions / Jornal da Tarde, 1994
Keywords: Change Inc., Black Mountain College, performance, ROCI
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Friedman, Carol / Questions, 1995
Keywords: childhood, performance
Note: Friedman organizes excerpts from her interview with Rauschenberg under the following headings:听Work, Souvenirs, Erudition, Flight, Rocky, and Postscripts I and II.
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Kaufman, Jason / Interview with Robert Rauschenberg / Art Newpaper, 1997
Keywords: collage, Marcel Duchamp, Echo, Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church--San Giovanni听Rotondo, photography, Renzo Piano, Riding Bikes
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Planca, Elisabetta / Questions for a Written Interview / Arte, 1997
Keywords: Anagram (A Pun), Italy, photography
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Marlow, Tim / 鈥淩obert Rauschenberg鈥 / Tate Magazine, 1998
Keywords: Bed, Black Mountain College, John Cage, Combines, Erased de Kooning Drawing, Jasper Johns, Monogram, performance, ROCI, White paintings
Note:听The interview was originally conducted on BBC Radio.
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Voytek, Alexa / Questions for School Report, 2001
Keywords: dyslexia, Moon Museum
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Hana, Deirdra / Questions / NOW Magazine, 2001
Keywords: photography
Note: Name is misspelled in response; correct spelling is Deirdre Hanna.
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Perron, Wendy / Questions on Performance / Dance Magazine, 2003
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Brooks, Rosetta / 鈥淩ound the Block Once or Twice鈥 / Modern Painters, 2005
Keywords:听 Combines
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J盲ger, Joachim / Questions, undated
Keywords:听Aen Floga, Door, performance
Page from transcript of personal interview with Robert Rauschenberg by Barbara Rose, 1987.