The works he created for each stop incorporated imagery and culture from the host country. Shuttle Buttle is a stellar example with its depiction of an American space shuttle, Discovery. The implied reach to the stars hints at human possibilities and accomplishments capable through cooperation and education – the ultimate ideals of the United States. Even the reflective metal surface highlights the idea of technology and the future. These features are tempered by the ghostly sign in the lower left which alludes to the American tension of community and individualism. In addition to examining the content of the works, we must also ask ourselves questions of appropriation and cultural hegemony. Not just through the present lens, art critics at the time such as Roberta Smith brought up questions between altruism, self-aggrandizement, and imperialism.

Shuttle Buttle is also part of the Wax Fire Works in which Rauschenberg painted or silkscreened pigmented wax onto aluminum and fixed it using heat, similar to traditional encaustic painting. Rauschenberg melded traditional and contemporary techniques and materials to create an arresting series of works. Although complicated in its approach and implications, the series helped spark new art movements including in China. ROCI speaks to the possibilities of art to affect and reflect social change.