Ed Ruscha and his Photographic Vision of Art.
I’m not sure how I got tapped into Ed Ruscha’s photographic work, but I’m pretty sure it was an article or YouTube video referencing his “TwentySix Gas Stations” book project. This led me down the path of researching all of his small books, including the following:
Twentysix Gasoline Stations (1963)
Left: Standard, Amarillo, Texas, 1962, Ed Ruscha, gelatin silver print. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2011.54.9. © Ed Ruscha. Right: Standard, Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, 1962, Ed Ruscha, gelatin silver print. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2011.54.13. © Ed Ruscha
Some Los Angeles Apartments (1965)
Left: 1018 S. Atlantic Blvd., 1965, Ed Ruscha, gelatin silver print. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2011.55.18. © Ed Ruscha. Right: 6565 Fountain Ave., 1965, Ed Ruscha, gelatin silver print. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2011.55.7. © Ed Ruscha
Every Building on the Sunset Strip (1966)
Maquette for Every Building on the Sunset Strip, 1966, Ed Ruscha, gelatin silver prints and labels on board with annotations. The Getty Research Institute, 2012.M.1.1. © Ed Ruscha
Pacific Coast Highway (1974)
Contact sheet for Pacific Coast Highway, negatives 1974, printed later, Ed Ruscha, gelatin silver print. Promised gift of Ed and Danna Ruscha to The Getty Research Institute, 2012.M.2.1. © Ed Ruscha
I subsequently tried to track down a copy of each of these small books or an available compilation of the entire small book project series, but I had no luck at all. Most of the original books are very collectible and a just a bit out of reach, and for some reason, no one has reissued the originals or compiled the small books in a definitive collection that I could find. (Please comment below if this is incorrect information)
During my search, I did stumbled across a book called. “Various Small Books. Referencing Various Small Books by Ed Ruscha” by Jeff Brouws, Wendy Burton, and Hermann Zschiegnerthat. I originally thought this was the small book collection by Ed Ruscha I was looking for, but I was mistaken. It’s a brief overview of Ruscha’s small books and then goes deep into all the other book projects inspired by Ruscha’s small books.
Here is the description of the book from the publisher:
Over the past thirty years, close to 100 other small books that appropriated or paid homage to Ruscha’s have appeared throughout the world. This book collects ninety-one of these projects, showcasing the cover and sample layouts from each and a description of the work. It also includes selections from Ruscha’s books and an appendix listing all known Ruscha book tributes.
These small books revisit, imitate, honor, and parody Ruscha in form, content, and title. Some rephotograph his subjects: Thirtyfour Parking Lots, Forty Years Later. Some offer a humorous variation: Various Unbaked Cookies (which concludes, as did Ruscha’s Various Small Fires, with a glass of milk), Twentynine Palms (twenty-nine photographs of palm readers signs). Some say something different: None of the Buildings on Sunset Strip. Some reach for a connection with Ruscha himself: 17 Parked Cars in Various Parking Lots Along Pacific Coast Highway Between My House and Ed Ruscha’s.
“My pictures are not that interesting, nor the subject matter. They are simply a collection of facts; my book is more like a collection of Ready-mades.”
I find it so intriguing and fascinating how someone who really doesn’t enjoy the medium of photography could be so iconic and influential in the photographic world, past and present. Look at all the solid work his small book series inspired along the way. So, what’s the draw to Ed Ruscha’s work? Is it the actual subject matter? The romanticism of an era gone by? The nostalgia of old-time gas stations and properties? Or is it just that Ruscha is a brilliant artist in other mediums, so fans just bonded with his photography? I don’t have the definitive answer to these questions, but I do know this…his small books have “a thing.”
I think we can all agree, It’s not the sheer beauty or genius of the small book photography itself, but for some reason, like many others, I love it. As I pondered Ed Ruscha’s photographic work while doing this research…it finally hit me. I realized that I love these works for their definitive and straightforward parameters as finished concepts and completed pieces of art, not just stand-alone photography books.
That really got me thinking about my relationship with making images and the separation and disconnect between the love of “taking pictures” versus using photography as a tool to collect information that will then be used in a definitive work and, thus, a means to an end to make art.
This new mindset has been a revelation to me over the last few weeks and is the reason I felt inspired to write this newsletter. The most exciting thing about thinking outside my normal framework of just collecting images for posting on social or the web is that now I am even driven to think outside my long-term photo book projects. I’m excited to start working on some more immediate short-term physical small-run projects such as self-printed mini books, zines, concept art, prints, etc.
I think the takeaway here for me is that we all need more intentionality in our photography. When you reach a certain level of competency, just making images that sit on a phone, hard drive, website, or even Instagram is not enough anymore. We need to embrace and construct more expansive concepts, ideas, and projects that can be used to push us outside the norm and grow as artists. I challenge everyone to make a goal today to start their journey toward completing a new tangible body of physical work that goes beyond the act of just taking random pictures.
I welcome your comments and opinions on Ed Ruscha’s photography, art, and the small book series he created.
Over & Out,
Benjamin Fargen