Edward Ruscha,, Standard Station

  I have a confession!   Pop Art is not my favorite.  When visiting a modern art gallery, one quick swing inside the Pop Art room will do it for me.  Although it was an exceptionally important movement in the 1960's, and it speaks to the commercial, disposable culture of that time, I am left not finding most images challenging in their own right.  But, this week, we have, what I think is an exception.  
   Standard Station is a color screen-print by the American artist, Edward Ruscha (1937 -)   He was part of the 1960's pop art movement but also experimented with a variety of styles and media.  Standard Station was done in 1966 and was created after a painting he did in 1963.  I have not found a reproduction of that painting, so we shall look at this print, instead.  He did do a series, but I found this one the most interesting.  
   The composition is extremely dynamic, it is hard NOT to look at it. The image is divided horizontally by the blue and the orange red, and the even split of the two equal triangles.  According to my reading this gas station image was taken from a station Ruscha had seen in Texas, and I believe we can see the influence of Andy Warhol and other pop artists.   
   Standard Station is part of the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.  It measures 19.4 by 36.8 inches.  
Make Art a part of your day, it's a beautiful thing to do.


Comments

  1. Char HarguthAugust 10, 2020 at 9:09 AM

    At first sight this was "wow"! It would seem that the heavy left side would overbalance it, but the blue sky compensates well. His bio was an interesting read! He tried many odd media and thought he was born to "watch paint dry"! His images are all stark - clean and dynamic. How he could take something simple from life and give it emphasis is interesting. He puts the "Pop" in pop artist!! This was fun.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Art Expert On LineAugust 12, 2020 at 8:23 AM

    Thanks! Love your comments, as always. I am so glad you checked out Ruscha and liked this image, as did I. It is a WOW!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wayne Thiebaud, Sunset Streets

Image
   In giving title to this landscape, California artist, Wayne Thiebaud not only provides the location, but also the time of day.  Knowing that Thiebaud is a California artist provides the last clue to guessing the probably location.  Smartly, The San Francisco Museum Of Modern Art purchased this painting for its permanent collection in 1986, a year after it was completed.  Sunset Streets is an oil on canvas measuring 48" x 35".      Wayne Thiebaud was born in 1920 and resides in California. He is one of several artists creating a distinct California aesthetic using heavy pigment and exaggerated color.   He is best known for his commonplace objects, figures, and landscapes. of which this is a perfect example.    The composition of this work is amazing.  Right down the center, at a slight tilt is this blue-black stripe, K shape, beginning with a heavy base and capped with a large triangle of sorts.  The painting is...
Read more

Jimmy Baker, "Double Tillman"

Image
   It has been a while since we have looked at a contemporary artist and new work, and this particular image by Jimmy Baker is somewhat different from others of his.   At first glance our painting for this week appears to be a landscape, maybe a setting or rising sun.  Our attention is drawn to the circle just slightly above middle center, and the arches above and swirls of color high light it.  Look at the lower half, the earth.  The light has highlighted rocks or wood chips, but we are unable to distinguish more.   I think this painting allows us to determine for ourselves what to make of it.   Is this a dying earth, or one recovering from tragedy?         Jimmy Baker (1980-) is from Ohio.  He was born here, received his education in Ohio, and is presently and associate professor at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.  His work has achieved critical acclaim with solo exhibitions in Europe and across t...
Read more

Childe Hassam "The Avenue in Rain"

Image
    I probably should have saved this for the 4th of July, but that is a little far off and this work is among Childe Hassam's finest.      I have known of Childe Hassam (1859 - 1935) for a very long time, but only recently did Wikimedia straighten me out about the correct way to pronounce his first name.  It seems the "e" is silent; and his last name is pronounced as written, with two syllables.        From what I have read, Hassam was a pretty sharp guy, and possibly a little  arrogant.  He created 3,000 some works of art in his career and lived his entire adult life on the proceeds of their sale.  This is quite remarkable.  Most artists, (at least before 1930) had to supplement their income by teaching, commissioned portraits or careers outside the art field.  But Hassam figured out not only how to market his work, but also what subjects would be popular.  Timing is always a big issue, and he wa...
Read more