Artist Books & Ruscha

February 13th: Today we discovered stab bindings, accordion and perfect binding in a hands on workshop led by Candice Hicks. But before we had any hands on activities, however, we viewed and discussed Ed Ruscha's artist books.

Ruscha, Edward. Every Building on Sunset Strip, 1966

"Ruscha began a series of photographic art books that documented ordinary aspects of life in Los Angeles. For Every Building on the Sunset Strip, Ruscha mounted a motorized Nikon to the back of a pick-up truck and photographed every building he passed. The resulting book, with the pictures printed in order and labeled with their street numbers, achieved an effective non-judgemental and almost anthropological record of previously unexplored details and aspects of the urban experience. Ruscha exercised control over each step of the bookmaking process and with the use of inexpensive offset printing, standard paper, and simple, paperback bindings, he created a new genre of art book designed for commercial distributors rather than art galleries. Ruscha's books, which became a staple of Conceptualism, were extremely influential to younger generations of artists."

Image and text from Manhattan Rare Book Company

Ruscha, Edward. Twentysix Gasoline Stations 1962. Alhambra: Cunningham Press, 1969 "

An excellent example of multiple bookworks are the books of Edward Ruscha. In 1963 his book Twenty-Six Gasoline Stations 1962 was published. There were 400 numbered copies that cost about $3 each. They are also portable and pocket sized. The idea behind this was that theoretically 400 different people could experence his art at the same exact time, in completely different ways."

Image and text from the University of Central Florida

Post created by Kari Laehr