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MAD SCIENTIST
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? Ed Ruscha

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MAD SCIENTIST 1975
  • Artist Rooms
During the mid 1970s, Ruscha made a series of drawings in pastel using pithy phrases set against colourful backdrops. The sentences and phrases evoke American vernacular and slang, draw attention to a particular experience of the artist, or recall the excesses of Hollywood culture. The phrase in this work suggests the mad scientist as portrayed in the movies, but may also refer to the progress and experiments taking place in science in America during the 1960s and 1970s.

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Pastel

A drawing material made from ground pigment bound with enough gum or resin to hold it together in a stick, often smudged on paper to produce soft, atmospheric effects.

Pastel

Details

  • Acc. No. AR00051
  • Medium Pastel on paper
  • Size 57.80 x 72.40 cm (framed: 73.00 x 87.00 x 4.00 cm)
  • Credit ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the Art Fund 2008

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