CaliforniaDreaming
He gave up Elvis for art, and thrives on the clash of wilderness and sprawl. Ruth Hedges interviews ED RUSCHA, one of the great American artists.
es the man; the dude. He's the .lack
Kerouac oi art. lid Rttscha (pronounced
Roo-shay) was born in l‘)37 in Oklahoma. drove to (‘alil‘ornia at the age ol‘ lb’ and has been rooted to the place ever since. ‘Do you want gum-popping girls Tor ever." he said in one interview. He went to ('houinard Art (‘ollege where it was all "beards. sandals and line arts'. and stopped listening to lilvis and going to church. llis art is resolutely American. l’anoramic landscapes till the canvases. overprinted with chunky texts; billboards are united with the landscape they decorate. At one point in his early days Rascha thought he might be a sign painter and. although this hope was usurped by a greater urge to become an artist. the meticulous respect l’or text has remained. He is the great American artist of our time. He spoke to The List from his LA home about the great themes ol‘ his lite and work: landscape. art and (‘alil'ornia
Landscape ‘()ne thing I would say ol’ America is the emptiness of it. and the relatively undeveloped quality of it that still lingers. I find particularly the western hall‘ ol' the l'nited States has a lot to ol'l'er me and my eye. But even the progress that I see. the development. I lind inspiration in that. It's not only the grandeur and beauty — it doesn’t have to be the (Brand (‘anyon or beautil'ul untouched trees ~ it can be modern civilisation encroaching on that and the clash there that offers some sort of spark.
‘l have to escape LA because it is truly overrun by people and I go out to the desert. which is
about two and a half hours away from here. It
you look at the map ~ wherever you see all the names stop. that‘s my place out there. I like it in
the very remote part of the desert. as a way of
keeping myself in check. And you know. I lind that that‘s my lil‘e.‘
Art
‘There was an ink bottle that l was first introduced to years ago — Higgins India ink. [is the ink that most cartoonists draw their cartoons with and I had a neighbour who would draw these cartoons. There seemed to be a magic that came out ol‘ the bottle. like the genie. I loved that black ink — it dries and cracks. you know. I very briel’ly thought that maybe I wanted to be a cartoonist but I quickly realised that I didn‘t have it in that respect. 1 went on to art school and thought at one point I might be a sign painter so I learned those techniques and then I took painting classes. Then it developed into the individual expressive idea ol‘ making a picture with paint. That seemed to have more possibility for me.~
Ed Ruscha, left, is known for painting cryptic messages over images of the landscape. But he also plays with typography alone - using typically American phrases as a starting point.
'I have the same energy as I had back then. .'\nd also. things that I did then are still part ot~ my work today. There are sources that I keep returning to and those sources were l‘ormed w hen l was young they were sort ot' irrational influences that make me l‘eel even the same way today. and I still Use the old techniques maybe that’s all I know how to do.
'I guess we're getting our due respect here in the west. It‘s taken a long time. New York is the centre til~ the tilt \Hil‘ltl it‘s been like llitti TOT many years and there's a great deal ol' power in artists living and working there and they create some ol the greatest art in the world. This place is removed. but it's gaining momentum.
‘The way people live and their consumption and all that imagery this country itisl haemorrhages all that inl'ormation. and this haemorrhaging is what the total noise is all about and that's what inspires me. The conflict starts when I realise that there is some decadence. there‘s a consumerism. a materialistic consumerism that I lind irritating and not really to my taste. lmagery that comes out oi all that is what inspires me. But then linally it becomes a big question mark as to where everything comes from and I don‘t ponder that very much I inst keep rolling and I don‘t really ask where it comes lrom.‘
California
'livery‘one around seems to say that (‘alil‘ornia still embodies the American dream. I don‘t know il‘ they believe that. But there is something about the weather. and there is something about the vegetation. and there is something about the location. and there is certainly something about the history ol‘ the place. There's also in some respect no history -- all the architecture and the building and all that. liverything is up l‘or grabs and very little is saved. and development overrides all of that. But there is still something here that I feel a kind oi narcotic attraction to and it‘s a combination ol‘ all those things.
‘I guess any time the sun shines there is some remote tie-in with glamour. and the sun shines a lot out here. Maybe that has become the symbol of this part of the world. I don‘t consciously try to instil my work with (‘alil'oriiiaii—iiess. I would say it‘s more American than it is (‘alil'ornian The movie industry and. like I say. the desert vegetation with palm trees and all that. has always had a real attraction to me. This place is growing so last and with this development it creates a great deal of noise. I guess maybe it‘s the noise I‘m attracted to. Of course I always have to run oil to the desert and get a little silencef
Ed Ruscha - Paintings, Drawings, Photographs, Books, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Wed 3 Nov-Sun 16 Jan. Janet Street Porter in Conversation with Ed Ruscha, Weston Link, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, 624 6560, Wed 3 Nov, 6.30pm, £4 (£3).
2‘ C’.'—-’~ HO. ZZZ-1 THE LIST 21