Curatorial notes
Editor: This is Edward Ruscha's "BLVD.-AVE.-ST.," a striking work from, well, an unknown date, in the Tate collection. I'm really drawn to its almost desolate, graphic feel. What do you make of it? Curator: It’s a bit like staring into a dream, isn’t it? Ruscha often plays with our perceptions of the everyday. Here, the mundane grid of city streets becomes almost monumental. Do you feel a sense of detachment, a bird's-eye view? Editor: I do, now that you mention it. It feels impersonal, but also kind of… grand? Curator: Exactly! It's that tension, the push and pull between the ordinary and the epic, that makes Ruscha so compelling. I always find something new when I look at his work. Editor: I'll definitely be thinking about this in a different way now.
