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EDWARD RUSCHA
(American, born 1937)
Foil, 1971
Pencil, gunpowder, and pastel on paper
11 9/16 x 27”
Bequest of George and Susan Proskauer 1992.17.43

American painter and photographer Ed Ruscha was educated in Oklahoma City and moved to Los Angeles around 1956, where he became known for the deadpan humor of his investigations of everyday life. Choosing words for their appearance, sound, and meaning, he turns them into objects and injects mystery into the mundane. His signature device is to make the familiar unrecognizable. In Foil, the ordinary kitchen product is thrust into the realm of fine art. Floating free against a soft, mottled sky, “foil” invites the viewer’s contemplation. Drawing upon his attraction to Pop art and combining it with a conceptualist’s eye for presentation, Ruscha renders silvery foil in shimmery pencil and gunpowder, a similarly reflective media. Only 80% charcoal, gunpowder is easier to control than pure charcoal, and it is well suited for creating delicately shaded nuances. Furthermore, its dangerous connotations add a romantic quality to the work.