Ed Ruscha: Course of Empire Paperback, 10 x 5 in 2005 Venice Biennale

Ed Ruscha: Course of Empire
Paperback, 10 x 5 in. / 64 pgs / 10 color
Pub Date: 9/15/2005
ISBN 9783775716543
Essays by #JoanDidion, #LindaNorden, #FrancesStark and #DonnaDeSalvo.
Inspired by the symmetrical, Jeffersonian layout of the American Pavilion’s Neoclassical architecture, and by Thomas Cole’s cycle of the same name, #EdRuscha installed this ten-painting exhibition titled Course of Empire at the 2005 #VeniceBiennale. Five pieces are painted in color and five in black and white. The artist paired each work from his 1992 Blue Collar series with a new color canvas depicting the future of the same urban landscape, some deteriorated, some growing and changing, some seemingly gentrifying. The exhibition will travel in 2006 to The #WhitneyMuseum of American Art in New York. Essays from Linda Norden, the U.S. Commissioner for the Venice Biennale, and artist Frances Stark celebrate the work, while Joan Didion’s coolly written but deeply felt piece about her own brokenhearted longing for Los Angeles hits a perfect note.