Edward Ruscha

'There are things that I'm constantly looking at that I feel should be elevated to greater status, almost to philosophical status or to a religious status. That's why taking things out of context is a useful tool to an artist. It's the concept of taking something that's not subject matter and making it subject matter.' - Ed Ruscha This definitive three-volume publication is the most comprehensive assessment to date on the books, prints, and photographic editions of Ed Ruscha, who since the early 1960s has been one of contemporary art's most innovative practitioners in the graphic arts. A pioneer of conceptual photography and the contemporary artist's book, Ruscha has also produced more than 500 graphic works that set him apart as a prolific and experimental innovator in nearly every printmaking technique. This publication documents each of the artist's projects in these three essential areas of production. Catalogue raisonné entries compiled by curator and contemporary print scholar Siri Engberg feature detailed data and new photography, with full-color images of all prints and editioned photographic works, as well as a photographic inventory of each artist's book cover and interior pages. Scholarly essays by Engberg and artist book specialist Clive Phillpot provide context and analysis of Ruscha's achievements in the area of editions through the full arc of the artist's career. Additional resources include Ruscha's 1975 text "The Information Man," a selected bibliography and exhibition history, and photographic "visual archives" chronicling Ruscha's activities working with print workshops and other collaborators.