Ed Ruscha- Dead End

ARTIST:

Ed Ruscha

Rusty Signs - Dead End

Date: 2014

Medium: Embossing on paper

Dimensions: 24 × 24 in

61 × 61 cm

References: http://www.artnet.com/artists/ed-ruscha/

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3714479&partId=

Biography:

Despite being credited with a Pop sensibility, Ed Ruscha defies categorization with his diverse output of photographic books and tongue-in-cheek photo-collages, paintings, and drawings. Ruscha’s work is inspired by the ironies and idiosyncrasies of life in Los Angeles, which he often conveys by placing glib words and phrases from colloquial and consumerist usage atop photographic images or fields of color. Known for painting and drawing with unusual materials such as gunpowder, blood, and Pepto Bismol, Ruscha draws attention to the deterioration of language and the pervasive cliches in pop culture, illustrated by his iconic 1979 painting I Don’t Want No Retro Spective. “You see this badly done on purpose, but the badly-done-on-purpose thing was done so well that it just becomes, let’s say, profound,” he once said. Equally renowned were his photographic books, in which he transferred the deadpan Pop style into series of images of LA—apartments, palm trees, or Twentysix Gasoline Stations (1962), his most famous work.

https://www.artsy.net/artist/ed-ruscha

Statement:

Ed Ruscha makes communication interesting. He’s a story teller who defies definition, giving words a life and language all their own. They are abstract forms that have bubbled, bled, crumpled and smoothed out again over the years. They’ve smelled like chocolate, been stained in blood and drawn in gunpowder. Ruscha is pop, conceptual, surreal and minimal all stuffed into one fat sandwich of artistic “isms.” His work is consciously ambiguous with no list of priorities or importance. There are no hidden messages and no social, economic or political statements to be found. Instead, Ruscha’s incredible body of work is what it is… a reflection of his personality: smart, witty and unique. The man and the art refuse to stand still. They have a constant buzz and possess the power to make art speak fun.

(http://eklektx.com/ed-ruscha/)

My Connection:

Ed Ruscha is an American artist who uses language in his graphic pop culture commentaries. He uses his background in painting, film and printmaking to explore the themes of “modern American life.” His fascination with common place words and phrases inspire fun sometimes sardonic artwork.
'Dead End' is an example of his exploration of words themselves. Ruscha uses painting and art to bring the words to life rather than the other way around.