Edward Ruscha
United States b.1937
Vine intersects four other streets 2003
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
213 x 305cm
Purchased 2003. The Queensland Government's Gallery of Modern Art Acquisitions Fund
Collection: Queensland Art Gallery
Edward Ruscha
Vine intersects four other streets 2003
Born and raised in America's midwest, Edward Ruscha moved to Los Angeles at the age of 19. He found employment as a graphic artist, which provided a point of departure for his art practice, characterised by its bold combination of typography and imagery drawn from popular culture.
Critics have associated Ruscha with art movements such as Conceptualism, Pop and Photo-realism but his practice resists simple categorisation. Today he is recognised as one of the most significant American artists of the late twentieth century. The enduring subject of his work is Los Angeles ― its landscape and mythology.
Vine intersects four other streets 2003 typifies his ability to pare down a rich and loaded cultural history to a minimal image. Los Angeles street names emerge from an ambiguous surface, recalling both the polluted haze of summer and the grain and texture of pavement.
Santa Monica and Hollywood Boulevards, Vine Street and Sunset Strip have all been mythologised through films, TV series and songs. More than mere names, they have agency as carriers of meaning, memory, nostalgia and celebrity.
