He was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts in 1993 by the
National Endowment of the Arts in Washington D.C.
He dabbled in many other genres, including choreography, set design, and performance art.
He initially worked in drawing, but shifted to collage-type works that mixed everyday objects with formal painting or sculpture.
He eventually attended the Kansas City Art Institute, and the Black Mountain College (North Carolina), where his fellow students included choreographer Merce Cunningham and musician John Cage. Later, Jasper Johns became a colleague and friend.
Initially, he studied pharmacology, and started drawing after he was drafted to work as a hospital technician in the US Navy during WWII.