One of the most consistently inventive artists of recent times, Los Angeles-based Ed Ruscha has been a pioneer in the use of language and imagery drawn from the popular media. From his early powerful word paintings to his influential artist books of the sixties and seventies to his recent colorful views of generic mountains, Ruscha has investigated the spaces between highways and journeys, images and words, abstraction and representation, public imagery and the contemporary landscape. In this publication, which accompanies a major retrospective exhibition organized by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, Neal Benezra, Kerry Brougher, and Phyllis Rosenzweig focus on all aspects of Ruscha's career, revealing him not merely as an artist closely linked with Los Angeles, but as an important international figure in contemporary art.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Hollywood, gas stations, and the airbrushed style of commercial graphics figure predominantly in Ed Ruscha's art. One of the first artists to use text and pop imagery in his paintings, he captured the America of Route 66 and the Sunset Strip. Not tied down to painting, he produced books of photographs that catalog life with a dry, deadpan humor, including Thirtyfour Parking Lots, Nine Swimming Pools, and Some Los Angeles Apartments. Ruscha began his artistic endeavors with plans to become a commercial artist. With his 1956 arrival in Los Angeles and its art community, he was fast on his way to becoming a major creative force with a uniquely American perspective.
The publication of Ed Ruscha coincides with the first traveling retrospective of Ruscha's work in nearly 20 years. Launched at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., the show covers his illustrious career from the 1960s through the present. If you can't make it to any of the show's other stops--Chicago, Fort Worth, Miami, or Oxford, England--then this book is a must-have. Included are three essays that elaborate on Ruscha's paintings, use of language, and photography in the context of art history by drawing parallels to earlier American painters and the history of documentary photography. Ruscha defies categorization by straddling both pop and conceptual art with his funny, elegant, and thoughtful work. --J.P. Cohen
From Library Journal
Ed Ruscha straddles an interesting line between Pop Art and the more experimental Minimalist art of the 1960s. This catalog for a large retrospective traveling exhibition of the artist's work follows his early career as he moved from Oklahoma to California and focuses on his important contributions (such as Twenty-six Gasoline Stations) to the field of artist's books. Such Ruscha icons as "Standard Station, Amarillo, Texas" and "Los Angeles County Museum on Fire" are highlighted, as are newer works (e.g., "Western") that see Ruscha moving toward a more impressionistic gray-scale palette. This includes an extensive chronology of the artist's life and exhibition record as well as a detailed bibliography. Recommended for larger collections of 20th-century art.DMartin R. Kalfatovic, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, DC
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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45 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ed Ruscha reviewed by the only correct source,
By jordiwolfwolf (dirty south) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Ice (Hardcover)
My friend is named Dan and he really likes this book. He first showed it to me outside during recess. We are both only 13 . If I had to chose over either this Ed Ruscha book or a Sega dream cast, playstation 2, alot of chocolate, a gun that looked real but wasn't, but felt real cause it was so heavy, I would choose the gun, probably because I couldn't get a gun now( I am not 21) and because none of my friends have ever seen a gun, it would be cool. But I still would like to flip through this book, but I don't know if I'd buy it, especially with my own money.
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