"There was a whole language that I could never make function for myself in relationship to painting and that was attitudes like tortured, struggle, pain"

This quote by Robert Rauschenberg talks to the difficulty of expressing oneself through painting. He is stating that there is a language of painting that he might never ever rather master. This language consists of words like "tortured," "struggle," and "discomfort," which are all words that describe the emotional and physical effort that enters into creating a painting. Rauschenberg is recommending that painting is a difficult and often agonizing procedure, and that it is difficult to reveal this through words. He is also recommending that there is a particular level of proficiency that is required to be able to express oneself through painting, which he has not yet accomplished this. This quote speaks to the trouble of revealing oneself through art, and the value of mastering the language of painting in order to do so.