I had read about the work of artist Ed Ruscha but was not really all that familiar with it, and maybe you fall into that category, too. I knew he was famous for his depictions of life in LA from mid-century and later, but that's about all.
You may have seen his iconic work, Standard, which is hanging prominently on the first wall you see. If you haven't ever seen it, it's a very graphic rendering of a Standard-brand gas station with its mid-century architecture of steel portico and gas pumps in reds, blues, and oranges. Very graphic and very eye-catching. I did not know that he also rendered the same image in different color schemes including lavender and yellow and tan.
I also did not know that most of his work was contemporary graphic lithographic prints rather than painterly pictures. He also uses words and phrases in much of his work along with a stray pimento-filled olive dropped in several works unexpectedly--attention getting if nothing else.
Anyway, you couldn't take any photos of his work, but I did get a shot of the entrance to the exhibit, which is today's image.
Check out the LACMA website on Ruscha's work:
http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/ed-ruscha-standard
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