Ed Ruscha: A Reader

Revelatory readings of Ruscha's oeuvre by renowned writers and critics as well as figures close to the artist

Since the mid-1960s, Ed Ruscha (born 1937) has developed iconic bodies of work in painting, photography, bookmaking and film. Conceived as a reader to Ruscha's practice, this publication brings together original contributions and case studies by an international array of renowned art critics and writers including Robert Dean, Lisa Turvey, Cécile Whiting, Jean-Pierre Criqui, Anne Moeglin-Delcroix, Benoît Buquet, Briony Fer, Linda Norden, Michel Gauthier, Elizabeth A. Kessler, Margit Rowell and John Tain. Among the specific areas discussed are Ruscha's early drawings, his relationship to literature and the Pictures Generation, and the legacy of his artist's book practice. Figures close to the artist propose their own subjective readings of his work as a way to renew our understanding of it. The volume includes a previously unpublished text by the artist and a visual essay by Jean-Pierre Criqui spanning Ruscha's entire oeuvre.