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You Will Eat Hot Lead |
Do As Told Or Suffer |
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It's Payback Time |
Noose Around Your Neck |
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Be Careful Else We Be Bangin' on You, You |
Your A Dead Man |
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Country Cityscapes Suite of Six Prints with text Suite of Six Prints $10,000. |
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ME and THE is a fore-edge book, with printing that appears when the gilt edge is fanned one way or another. Fore-edge printing was popular in the 18th century but rarely used today; Graphicstudio research encompasses the recapture and revitalization of such technology. The pages of the book are blank, perhaps a commentary on the meanings we would ascribe, or fail to ascribe, to such seemingly simple words. When the book pages are fanned in one direction the text Me appears. When the book pages are fanned in the opposite direction the text The appears. ME and THE No Longer Available |
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Ed Ruscha
One of America's most influential contemporary artists, Ed Ruscha was first in residence at Graphicstudio during its early years, in 1970-71, when he completed a series of six finely hand-drawn lithographs -- among them Twentysix Gasoline Stations, Nine Swimming Pools and Real Estate Opportunities. Ruscha derived the prints' subject matter and imagery from his artist books of the same titles and they demonstrate the artist's interest in commercial art and typography.
Thirty years later in 2000-01 Ruscha returned to the atelier, this time for a suite of color photogravures and a limited-edition artist book. The early and late bodies of work share striking similarities in the interplay of word and image and in the exploration of the intersection of fine art and commercial printing techniques, and display an enduring committment to the artist book form by Ruscha, a pioneer of the artist book movement in the 1960s.
The new suite of six prints, Country Cityscapes, showcases Graphicstudio's achievement in the development of multi-plate color photogravure. Ruscha rephotographed, as 4x5 transparencies, offset lithographic, calendar-like images of magnificent landscapes, and the transparencies were made into photogravure plates. The commercial photographs are recast as high-art prints, the tracks of offset lithography and characteristics of hand photogravure both evident in the streaky surface marks and softened textures of the images. Ruscha then created blacked- or whited-out spaces for text on the prints, which he left blank. The text appears as almost invisible gray screenprint on the center bottom margin of the prints. Ironic and aggressive, the words create a startling counterpoint to the iconic nature of the imagery.
Related Media
Ed Ruscha: New Paintings
A Retrospective of works on paper
The book can be puchased at our online Museum Store.
Edward Ruscha: Mountains and Portraits
Edward Ruscha: Mountains and Portraits - Set of note cards matching exhibition
The book can be puchased at our online Museum Store.
Questions? If you have any questions about Graphicstudio or a work of art you see on this site please email Graphicstudio. If you have difficulty with any part of this site, please email the Webmaster.
Copyright and Reproduction
The electronic images available on this site are subject to copyright and may be covered by other restrictions as well. The images are made available to the general public as a representation of work produced at USF Graphicstudio. Copy or redistribution in any manner for commercial use is not permitted. Anyone wishing to use any of these images for commercial use, publication, or for any purpose other than personal fair use must first request and receive prior written permission from the University of South Florida Institute for Research in Art. Please contact Director of Marketing and Sales Kristin Soderqvist at 813.974.5871 for more information.
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