Description: EDWARD (ED) RUSCHA (b. 1937, USA), 'A Particular Kind of Heaven', 1983/2001 Museum Art Poster Offset lithograph poster printed in a semi-gloss on heavy-weight paper. Dimensions: 24" x 36" sheet. © Ed Ruscha. BRAND NEW (unframed - shown are 2 framed examples). A Particular Kind of Heaven is one in a series of related works Ed Ruscha created in the mid-1980s in which he silhouetted words and phrases against a sky backdrop. The painting’s large-scale, panoramic format and lucent, chromatic light effects relate to a long tradition of American landscape painting, represented by such Hudson River School artists as Albert Bierstadt, as well as other artists of the American West. Ruscha’s westward-facing California sunset evokes symbolic associations of the American West, including the perception of California as an earthly Eden or El Dorado, and the locus for the ultimate fulfillment of America’s “manifest destiny” to settle the continent. Ruscha’s words, “A Particular Kind of Heaven,” hover over the horizon like geometric skywriting and they dominate the sunset. Related to, but isolated from, the context of language and clear communication, Ruscha’s enigmatic words invite scrutiny and questions by drawing the viewer’s attention to the disjunctions between words, language, and meanings, and ultimately this work defies precise definitions. The white capital letters featured in the painting, which resemble those in the famous Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, recall a film title projected on a movie screen. Similarly, the panoramic, Technicolor landscape brings to mind classic western films and evokes the popular idea of California as an earthly paradise. It was while living in Los Angeles that Ruscha began painting works such as A Particular Kind of Heaven, which capture Ruscha's unerring ability to harness the simple immediacy of language, in a way that can be both unsettling and humorous. In this work the words “A Particular Kind of Heaven” loom large above the landscape, dominating the sunset, it is as though the words should evoke a sense of longing, of wistfulness even, but the regid typography makes them appear alienated from the context. And without allowing any exact definitions, the viewer is forced to question the detachment between language and meaning. Edward Ruscha has long been an influential voice in postwar American painting and in the graphic arts. Born in Omaha and raised in Oklahoma City, he left for Los Angeles in 1956 to study commercial art but soon abandoned this discipline for painting, though the skills of typography and illustration remained central to his work. Today, Ruscha is best known for work that comments on the urban vernacular landscape and is often imbued with a provocative use of language. PLEASE SEE MY OTHER AUCTIONS BY CLICKING MY Store ICON
Price: 125 USD
Location: Miami, Florida
End Time: 2025-01-02T20:41:41.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Artist: Ed Ruscha
Unit of Sale: Single-Piece Work
Size: Large (up to 60in.)
Custom Bundle: No
Date of Creation: 2000-Now
Item Length: N/A
Region of Origin: USA
Framing: Unframed
Personalize: No
Listed By: Dealer or Reseller
Year of Production: 1983
Unit Type: Unit
Width (Inches): 36
Item Height: 24 in
Style: Contemporary
Features: Artwork
Featured Person/Artist: Edward Ruscha
Unit Quantity: 1
Item Width: 36 in
Culture: Contemporary
Handmade: No
Character: A Particular Kind of Heaven
Signed: No
Color: Blue, Yellow, Black...
Title: A Particular Kind of Heaven
Material: Paper
Certificate of Authenticity (COA): No
Original/Licensed Reprint: Open Edition Poster
Franchise: Art Poster
Subject: Text / Language
Type: Poster
Height (Inches): 24
Theme: Contemporary Art, Art
Original/Reproduction: Original
Time Period Manufactured: 2000-2009
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States