Thursday, October 8, 2009

Ruscha On L.A.

As they say in Hollywood, "I don't care what you write about me so long as you spell my name right." L.A. has had its share of ambivalent coverage lately -- a never-ending tribute to its controversial fame. After David Byrne and James Kunstler, now it's the turn of Ed Ruscha. L.A.Metblogs on his recent interview in The Telegraph:

"Ruscha’s work draws on imagery from the urban landscape of southern California. [Yet] he’s of two minds about the city where he’s made his home since 1956. 'It puzzles me that people can come to Los Angeles and actually get excited about it,' [says Ruscha]. But he also admits, a little grudgingly, that there is a 'certain neurotic anxiety' about the city that nourishes him. 'It’s oily about the edges,' he explains. 'It’s gritty, but at the same time it promises something. I don’t know what, the fountain of youth, maybe.'" Full interview.

2 comments:

The Daily Connoisseur said...

I don't know if I think of it as gritty... (maybe because I live in Santa Monica- which is hardly 'roughing it') but I do agree that it promises something...

LA Frog said...

One thing we can all agree on -- lovers + naysayers -- is that L.A. is schizophrenic.