Cotton puffs, Q-tips, smoke and mirrors

Ed Ruscha (b. 1937) is among the most popular American artists working today. His evocations of commonplace subjects have earned him a reputation as a Pop artist, while his interest in language and typography has aligned him with Conceptual art. This book, published to accompany Ruscha's first museum retrospective of drawings, showcases his singular vision and his wide range of highly personal mediums and techniques-from pastels and gunpowder to blood, coffee, and tobacco stains. Ruscha's work includes paintings, photographs, prints, books, and films, but his unique works on paper are perhaps his richest vein. Through his interpretations of cultural icons and vernacular subjects such as the Hollywood sign, trademarks, and gas stations, as well as his renderings of words and phrases in countless stylistic variations, Ruscha proposes a modern landscape based on keen observation and wry humor.

"Gunpowder, tobacco, coffee, rose petals, lettuce and blood are just a few of the unorthodox materials used by California-based artist Ed Ruscha, whose work is featured in this sumptuously produced monograph of drawings. Produced in conjunction with a career retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art, this catalog features over 200 reproductions of the artist’s sly and meticulously rendered drawings of stock phrases from pop culture (e.g. "Hollywood Calif," "Babycakes," "20th Century Fox"). The drawings are accompanied by two rather disjointed essays by exhibit curator Rowell and MoCA LA curator Butler. Rowell’s essay focuses on the artist’s working process, explaining that one reason Ruscha drew with gunpowder was because it was an easier medium to manipulate than graphite. She also points out some salient links between the artist’s drawings and his interest in photography. Butler takes a more conceptual approach, examining the content of Ruscha’s drawings and his working materials through a theoretical and thematic lens. While both essays offer welcome insights into the work of a highly mercurial artist, Rowell’s reliance on stiff art historical jargon and Butler’s disorganized presentation make for dense reading. Part of their difficulty may be that the drawings themselves, with their sparklingly light irony and deft, masterly touch, have strange, otherworldly resonances that are difficult to pin down with words. Ultimately, it’s the strength of the work itself that makes this book a must-have for any Ruscha fan." -- Publisher's Weekly review.