Ed Ruscha, The End

PUBLISHED IN: Art Brochures

The End
1998-2014
11 x 14
glass hologram set
Provenance
Private Collection

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all available works by Ed Ruscha

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Ed Ruscha is one of the most distinguished American artists due in part for his explorations of the symbols of Americana and the relationship between language and art. He is perhaps best recognized for paintings incorporating words and phrases, or for his many photographic books, all influenced by the deadpan irreverence of the Pop Art movement. <br> <br>Ruscha employs words as images, taking phrases out of their original context and transforming them into subject matter. As with his East Coast Pop counterparts Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, Ruscha’s initial artistic training was in commercial art – a background evident in his iconic typographical works. In this painting from 2013, the words “Evolution Revolution” overlay a serene mountain silhouette. Describing his inspiration, Ruscha once said, “I like the idea of a word becoming a picture, almost leaving its body, then coming back and becoming a word again.”
ED RUSCHA
Evolution Revolution
2013
24 x 36 in.
acrylic on museum board

Ed Ruscha is one of the most distinguished American artists due in part for his explorations of the symbols of Americana and the relationship between language and art. The End is a cinematic theme that the artist used in the 1990s and 2000s, appearing in paintings, prints, and drawings – notably the 1991 large-scale painting at the Museum of Modern Art. Addressing the passage of time and obsolescence, Ruscha makes use of an antiquated typeface and an old cinematic tradition of using text in film. The concept of ephemerality is enhanced by the words themselves, The End, and the nature of the medium itself; considered futuristic when it was developed in the 1960s, the laser technology for holograms also creates a sense of impermanence as the images change with the viewer’s movement. While there is innate movement in the shifting words and images, these holograms also represent a full stop – a transitory moment frozen in time.
ED RUSCHA
The End
1998-2014
11 x 14 in.
glass hologram set

ED RUSCHA - Pepto-Caviar Hollywood - screenprint in colors on Copperplate Deluxe paper with Pepto-Bismol and caviar - 14 1/2 x 42 in.
ED RUSCHA
Pepto-Caviar Hollywood
1970
14 1/2 x 42 in.
screenprint in colors on Copperplate Deluxe paper with Pepto-Bismol and caviar

ED RUSCHA - Black Ants - silkscreen printed in colors on wood-veneered paper - 20 1/4 x 27 1/4 in.
ED RUSCHA
Black Ants
1972
20 1/4 x 27 1/4 in.
silkscreen printed in colors on wood-veneered paper