Analysis Of Pop Art By Ed Ruscha

Gallery 19 of the Museum of Modern Art features Pop Art trailblazers of the early 1960s, ranging from Roy Lichtenstein’s “Girl with Ball” to Andy Warhol’s “Gold Marilyn Monroe.” Alongside these emblematic works of art, there hangs a more simplistic piece: a six foot square canvas with three yellow letters, entitled “OOF.” The work of art, created by Ed Ruscha in 1962, is a painting that leaves little room for subjective interpretation as does the majority of his work. Ruscha represented the culture in the 1960s through his contributions to the transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art, efforts to redefine what it meant for a painting to be fine art, and interpretation of the Space Race.

During the 1940s and 50s, Abstract Expressionism

In addition to using simple words in his work, Ruscha depicted many cultural aspects of society, including containers of Spam, Western comic books and newspapers. Including these images that were recognizable by the general public in his paintings makes his work fit perfectly into Pop Art. Ruscha’s societal references often mocked consumerism as he added hidden symbols that could easily be overlooked when contrasted with the large eye catching typography. In “Flash, LA Times,” the bright yellow text overpowers the small LA Times newspaper. Ruscha’s take on consumerism intentionally broke the conventional rules of fine art. In, “Norm’s Diner, LA Cienega, On Fire,” Ruscha painted a diner being burned down, inspired by an actual diner he had come across in his travels. Ruscha selected the name Norm’s Diner to literally depict burning down the norms, which symbolizes his unconventional work. With his numerous pieces of work featuring subjects that did not fit into the traditional expectations of art, Ruscha helped redefine what fine art is and further the Pop Art