David Byrne, in an op-ed contribution in today's New York Times, reflects on the life of the acclaimed American artist Robert Rauschenberg, who died Monday at the age of 82, recounting his own personal experiences with the man he knew as a friend, a colleague, and an inspiration.

In the piece, Byrne describes an early collaboration between them. He commissioned Rauschenberg create the artwork for what would become a special limited-edition version of the 1983 Talking Heads album Speaking in Tongues. Rauschenberg's concept involved a deconstruction of the album sleeve itself: separating the layers of color that are normally combined to create a single image and instead running them on translucent sheets of plastic, so that the image was altered with every shift in the position of the sheets. (Click on the image at left to see Side A, at right to see Side B.)

This is just one example Byrne cites of Rauschenberg's ability "not only think outside of the box, but to question the box's very existence," and then to inspire others to do the same. Writes Byrne:

His openness and way of seeing was contagious and inspired others in their own work — not to imitate and make pseudo-Rauschenbergs, but to see the whole world as a work of art. As corny as that may sound, that’s what he sometimes did.

To read the essay, visit nytimes.com.