Art Talk – Ed Ruscha and the Great American West

Posted by diane on 21 January 2014

The de Young exhibit (July 16 – Oct. 9) reveals the artist’s engagement with the American West and its starring role in our national mythology. It includes works that depict gasoline stations, his famous “Technicolor” images of the Hollywood sign, and works in which a word or phrase is the sole subject, often depicted in a variety of forms that simulate poured liquids, cut ribbons, or spray paint.

In 1956, at the age of 18, Ed Ruscha hopped in his 1950 Ford sedan and drove the fabled Route 66 from his home in Oklahoma to Los Angeles. Along the way he saw many of the sights – auto repair shops, billboards, gas stations, and long stretches of road punctuated by telephone poles – which would become his subjects for decades to come.  This exhibition includes more than 80 works showing Ruscha’s unique perspective on the American West across a wide range of media.  It celebrates the career of one of the world’s most influential and critically aclaimed living artists.

Docent: Kathryn Zupsic, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Kathryn Zupsic has been an art educator for over 20 years, working as a docent, public speaker, and art teacher.  Before moving to
San Francisco in 2009, she was a docent at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, where she served as president of the Docent Council and specialized in  Latin American art.  She has been a docent at the de Young and the Legion of Honor since 2012 and now heads up the museums’ Community Speakers program.
Kathryn especially loves teaching art to at-risk teenagers.  She volunteers as a drawing and art history teacher at a middle school in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district.  She has a degree in Foreign Languages from the University of Oregon and a diploma in French cooking from La Varenne School of Cuisine in Paris.

First Wednesday Art Talks are sponsored by the Friends of the San Rafael Public Library. The lectures are held in the Council Chambers at San Rafael City Hall,1400 Fifth Avenue, beginning promptly at 1:00 p.m. Doors open at 12:30 p.m. Seating is limited. Admission is free.

UPCOMING ART TALKS:

November 2, 2016:
The Brothers Le Nain: Painters of 17th Century France
de Young Docent: TBD
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

December 7, 2016: Read My Pins
de Young Docent: TBD
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco