<p>Against the cool rich blue field, Edward Ruscha's overlapping ellipses resemble a bright white halo. The drawing was initially inspired by the circular space of a rotunda in a public library, for which the artist was commissioned to produce a mural. The mural was to contain a quotation from Hamlet-"Words without thoughts never to heaven go"-a reference that explains the double rings' celestial resonance. In the process of exploring the rotunda's shape on paper, Ruscha transformed it into a cup-and-saucer, an empty dog bowl, and the present small dish.</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1985
- Medium
- Dry-pigment on paper
- Dimensions
- Sight: 101.6 × 152.4 cm (40 × 60 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Ed Ruscha
Artist
Painting
Learn about the work and career of artist Ed Ruscha. Artworks, biography, exhibitions, news, museum exhibitions, press, and more.
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More by Ed Ruscha
"L. C."
1997 · Color screenprint on white wove paper
Coyote
1989 · Lithograph on white wove paper
Untitled (Ship)
1988 · Acrylic on white wove paper
Rooster
1988 · Color aquatint and hard ground etching on white wove paper
F House
1987 · Acrylic on canvas
Seconals, Splinters
1976 · Gunpowder, brush and red watercolor, and yellow pastel, on white wove paper
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Ed Ruscha
- Year
- 1985
- Medium
- Dry-pigment on paper
- Dimensions
- Sight: 101.6 × 152.4 cm (40 × 60 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1985-119139
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified