ed ruscha
Talking about the Southbank Centre (see Eleanor Coade, below), a big retrospective of the paintings of Ed Ruscha is on at the Hayward until Jan 2010. His work has always struck a deep chord of recognition with me, despite a slight feeling that what he was visualising was “graphic vernacular” – like Edward Hopper’s Hemingway-inspired Nighthawks crossed with Ed Fella – rather than the very serious highbrow business of the fine arts we have in Europe (yes I am being ironic). Having said that, this is the attitude and emotional language that for me best describes in terms of space, light and our pathetic marks on the landscape, both urban and hinterland, the North America of the 20th century.
Image from official site www.edruscha.com
