Ed Ruscha
b. 1937; Omaha, NE
Surrealism, 1966
Graphite and tempera on paper
This is a working drawing for Ed Ruscha’s photograph Surrealism Soaped and Scrubbed (1966), which was on the cover of the September 1966 issue of the magazine Artforum (1962– ). This special issue included essays on Surrealism from historical, architectural, filmic, and personal perspectives, including those by critics Lucy Lippard and William Rubin. Using the pseudonym “Eddie Russia,” Ruscha worked as a production designer and art director at the magazine from 1965 to 1969, a time when he was leaning into the use of typography and language in his art. This sudsing of surrealism exemplifies Ruscha’s unique blend of Pop art’s lush stylization and Conceptual art’s removed austerity, along with his deadpan humor.
