Ed Ruscha’s Los Angeles

"You know, everything is not just red, yellow, blue, and coming from a tube. It can be anything out there in the world. Grab it and use it."

In 1956, artist Ed Ruscha left his home in Oklahoma and drove with his childhood friend to Los Angeles. Drawn to the city by its palm trees and apparent lack of an established art scene, Ruscha stayed to attend Chouinard Art Institute (now CalArts), where he aspired to be a sign painter. In the decades since, Ruscha has become a world-renowned artist, but much of his art continues to be informed by LA.

In this episode, Ruscha discusses how he became an artist, his thoughts on his career today, and his decades-long project documenting Sunset Boulevard.

For images, transcripts, and more, visit https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/podcast-ed-ruschas-los-angeles/ or http://www.getty.edu/podcasts

To learn more about Ruscha's photographs of Sunset Boulevard, visit https://12sunsets.getty.edu/map/narrative