Final answer:
Artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns collaborated to navigate Modern art in a new direction in America, moving beyond Abstract Expressionism and creating the avant-garde Combines.
Step-by-step explanation:
The artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns collaborated to develop a movement that took a new and unique place in Modern art in America. After meeting at the Black Mountain art school and using their Post-War G.I. Bill to study art, these artists were influenced by the significant changes in the world, including the use of new technology and industrial advancements. Their partnership, though relatively short-lived, was a critical conversation that steered American Modern art away from Abstract Expressionism towards more varied forms, including the avant-garde art known as Rauschenberg's Combines, which integrated paint with found objects, further developing ideas from Duchamp's Readymades.