Ed Ruscha’s art took on two aspects in the 60’s and 70’s. First was his work in the early 60’s of large scale work such as Large Trademark with Eight Spotlights (5ft. 6 ¾ in X 11ft. 1 ¼ in.), Actual Size (71 X 67 in.), and Flash, L.A. Times (72in X 67in.). Another feature of Ruscha’s large scale work was the use of space on the canvas. He addresses this as the pictorial, the mental, and the actual space of works of art. Ruscha moved to Los Angles in 1956 to study commercial art. Influenced by Jasper John, Robert Rauschenberg, and Robert Frank, he began to paint his large scale paintings and focused on fine art instead of commercial art. New Painting of Common Objects was his first show. Ruscha referred to these large scale paintings as characters. He kept the canvases at a size that he could easily move them, which he did often. The canvases become companions to him in his studio. These pieces would encourage viewing from two different points: one close up and the other at a distance. It seems as if the viewer reference to the painting is as important to the actual art to Ruscha. He did not want the viewer to look at his paintings and just walk away. He wanted them to study it. He wanted them to see the dimensions of it outside of being on a flat canvas. On the painting, Flash, L.A. Times, the newspaper is upside down to the word flash on the top. The newspaper itself is drawn with layers w itha written comic strip. The viewer would need to turn their head upside down to view the bottom portion of the painting. In Actual Size, the viewer must get up close to see the detail in the can of Spam. His large scale work uses both small detail as well as large text.
The second aspect of Ed Ruscha’s work was mass produced photography books. From 1963 to 1978, he produced 16 artist's books. He stated that the books are “the toughest part of my art.” These books include Every Building on the Sunset Strip (1965), A Few Palm Trees (1971), and Thirtyfour Parking Lots in Los Angeles (1967). Ruscha was not interested in creating fine art books but he wanted a mass-produced photography book. He viewed this as a piece of art itself. The books illustrated the urban landscape of Southern California. Twentysix Gasoline Stations, published in 1962, was the model for most of his subsequent books. It contains black and white photographs of gasoline stations in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Every Building on the Sunset Strip is Ruscha’s most famous book. It is an accordion-fold book that is 25 feet in length. It contains photographs of buildings from Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Cory Avenue. The viewpoint is from a car driving along the street. I did some research on the current day value of Ruscha’s books. A signed first edition of Twentysix Gasoline Stations was recently auctioned for $35,000. A first edition, unsigned copy of Every Building on the Sunset Strip is valued at $7,500.
The significance of the car culture in 60’s and 70’s influenced artists such as Ed Ruscha, Judy Chicago and Edward Kienholz. Whether painting on a car, taking photographs of cars or taking them from inside cars looking out, the art of the time reflected a bond with the car. This bond resulted in exploration of the urban landscape of Los Angeles. As the city rapidly changed, the opportunity to photograph a time or place in a moment became a real mission for artist of the time. Ruscha’s books captured the city from the driver’s seat. While capturing the perfections of the commercial landscape, Ruscha also captures the imperfections. Both are then frozen in time.
Taking photographs from my car has always interested me. I have never really thought of this technique being a part of the history of photography.
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