Columbia Center for Oral History Portal > Oral history interview with Kat Epple, 2015Biographical NoteKat Epple is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning flute player and composer who has released 30 albums internationally, written film and television scores, and performs live original music featuring synthesizers and flutes with her various ensembles, including the band Emerald Web. She cites Rauschenberg, a visual artist, as her biggest influence
Scope and ContentsKat Epple describes her close friendship with Robert Rauschenberg, calling him her biggest influence. She talks about meeting Rauschenberg through mutual friends and becoming fast friends and collaborators: traveling with Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange (ROCI); being invited to play at his more prominent gallery openings like the National Gallery in 1991, The Guggenheim in 1997, and the Guggenheim in Bilbao in 1998. She speaks about Rauschenberg's philanthropic role at Sally Lieberman Smith's Lab School in Washington, D.C. She recounts Rauschenberg Day and the teachers' benefits where she played. She also describes Rauschenberg's dyslexia as a metaphor and catalyst for his for his unique vision on the role of an artist. She describes a life filled with celebrities and beloved friends, and talks about time they spent together during the last few years of his life on Captiva Island, Florida
SubjectsAccess ConditionsCopyright by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York and Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, 2015
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