Ed Ruscha

James Corcoran Gallery, Los Angeles
Acquired by the present owner from the above

Robert Dean and Erin Wright, eds., Edward Ruscha: Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Volume Three: 1983-1987, New York, 2007, p. 53, cat. no. P1983.16, illustrated in color

This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of very light wear and handling along the edges, which are taped. The colors are bright, fresh and clean. Under very close inspection, a few unobtrusive pinpoint spot accretions are visible and there is a very faint drip accretion just left of center above the bottom edge. Only visible under extreme raking light and magnification, there are minor and unobtrusive hairline ground cracks, all of which appear stable. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, there is an approximately 2-inch brushstroke area on the right edge 5-inches from the bottom that fluoresces darkly and appears to be from the hand of the artist at the time of execution, and does not appear to be the result of restoration. Framed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A cloudy sky serves as the backdrop to this iconic painting, leaving the letters “OH” as the focus of the work. The letters, painted in one of Ruscha’s classic typefaces hover in the top left of the work, seemingly floating into the distance after being uttered. Transgressing the boundaries of reading and viewing, the word becomes the image itself: “OH” is not just an exclamation, but a pictorial object defined by the shape and color of its letters. 

Both the material and subject matter nod toward Ruscha’s amorphous place in Pop Art. Though an artist who has resisted strict categorization, Ruscha himself has readily admitted to deriving inspiration from popular culture and daily life. Living in LA, Ruscha was surrounded by words, constantly in contact with billboards, movie posters, and other advertisements. They boldly utilize language in their imagery and, furthermore, use singular words or phrases with maximum impact to convey a larger message.  This pattern can be seen in Ruscha’s body of work.  In a 1980 interview he explains, “I guess I’m a child of communications, and I have always felt attracted to anything that had to do with that phenomenon of people speaking to each other. And so maybe that itself becomes synonymous with popular culture in that newspapers, magazines, printing, specifically, have had the most dramatic effect on me.  Printing was it to me…I began to see not only the content of it, but the curiosity of the thing itself.” Ruscha's paintings are nuanced mediations on the Pop landscape of mass media culture and its forms of communication. Whereas Gerhard Richter mined the photograph as a source of communication, Ruscha focused on words and slogans. Both are elements of the visual landscape of our contemporary existence.

As a result of this fascination, Ruscha began his exploration of words as objects. He removes them from their social and cultural context and places them on a canvas as the focus of the work. They become not only a means of conveying a message, but also the message itself. Without the benefit of background context, or even a full sentence, Ruscha’s viewers are left to interpret the piece based on their own experience.