Perhaps the most important element of all this is the remarkable collaborative spirit which is imperative if such projects are to succeed , and which , Rauschenberg said , " usually happens in a very natural way . Like , John Cage decided Merce needed somebody. Merce had had a very bad experience with costumes . Once ( while a member of the Martha Graham troupe ) he'd had to wear this mask de signed by Noguchi , and the only way to keep it on was to hold onto it with his teeth . " Rauschenberg demonstrated. " So I got the job . " The current exhibit documents 20 such " jobs, " from 1954 through 1983. And although Rauschenberg's plans for a choreographed " dance " for wind surfers will not materialize for the Sum mer Olympics as he had told me in February , the project is still very much alive.