From the single-word Ooo and Eye prints to Hollywood in the Rain, a landscape of the iconic Hollywood sign, this selection of fourteen graphic works demonstrates Ruscha's interest in language and popular culture, and his masterful ability to use text as the subject of his works.

The exhibition remains on view through January 22, 2007. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1937, Ruscha moved to Los Angeles in 1956 to study commercial art at the Chouinard Art Institute. His studies, as well as his apprenticeship with a book publisher, introduced him to the fundamentals of working on a press and making prints, and he brought the themes of lettering and illustration to his early paintings. His first work with collaborative printmaking came at the suggestion of art collector Audrey Sabol in 1966, and Ruscha became intrigued by the possibilities of translating ideas and images across different media. This became a primary motif for the artist for many years to come.

Ruscha's interest in printmaking coincided with the development of several important lithographic workshops in the Los Angeles area. In particular, the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, established by June Wayne in 1960, was a vital center for sharing printmaking techniques and encouraging collaboration between artists. In the tradition of European printing ateliers, Tamarind offered a creative environment where emerging and experienced artists worked side by side on projects. For Ruscha, his fellowship at Tamarind led to a lifelong interest in the expressive possibilities of printmaking.

The works on view in the exhibition demonstrate how the artist uses single words as visual and linguistic "found" objects. Ruscha chooses words that are powerful and suggestive, with an engaging phonetic
quality. In works such as Adios (1969), he renders the words as if they were formed from liquid, while in Eye (1969) Ruscha forms the shapes seemingly out of smoke. This trompe l'oeil effect emphasizes their
symbolic as well as physical weight (or weightlessness). Through finely drafted art and a rich medium, Ruscha found the means to investigate the transformative quality of language.

Ooo: Early Prints by Ed Ruscha is organized by Michelle Deziel, assistant curator, Norton Simon Museum, with assistance from Christine Knoke, associate curator, Norton Simon Museum.

By www.nortonsimon.org