Skip to main content
Like so much of Ruscha’s work from the 1960s, OOO is a simple graphic of three rings presented in an understated fashion, centralized against a monochromatic backdrop. Countering the inherent simplicity is the brilliance of the saturated green, the subtlety of the highlights, and the illusion of liquid, which is furthered by several scattered drops.
Instead of paint, Ruscha experimented with such different liquids as maple syrup, bean and berry juice, and Vaseline, and in his prints he emulated their qualities. In a frank explanation of his motivation, he said “My ‘romance with liquids’ came about because I was looking for some sort of alternative entertainment for myself—an alternative from the rigid, hard-edged paintings of words that had to respect some typographical design. These [liquid words] didn’t have rules about how a letter had to be formed.”[2] OOO appears as if written in spit and further breaks the rules by not really being a word, but rather a sound, uttered perhaps by a child or by someone expressing disbelief, and in doing so spraying saliva.[3] The ambiguity rendered here is typical of Ruscha’s work, as the image could also represent candy Lifesavers. Additionally, the intense blue-green conjures associations with swimming pools—a subject he had recently explored in one of his books, Nine Swimming Pools and a Broken Glass. In reality, though, OOO is one of Ruscha’s most abstract efforts.
The lithograph was produced during a two-year hiatus from painting, when the artist was working on his books and films and exploring lithography. He worked for two months in 1969 at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles and the following year in London at the pioneering print publishers Editions Alecto. OOO was printed at Cirrus Editions Ltd. and co-published with Brooke Alexander Editions.
Notes:
[1] Ruscha quoted in Richard D. Marshall, Ed Ruscha (New York and London: Phaidon Press Limited, 2003), 160.
[2] Ruscha quoted in Marshall, Ed Ruscha, 107.
[3] See Shaune Lakin, “OOO and Lisp,” in Kenneth Tyler Printmaking Collection, http://nga.gov.au/internationalprints/Tyler/Default.cfm?MnuID=6&Essay=Ruscha_OOO
ProvenanceTo 1983
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York, NY and Winston-Salem, NC. [1]
From 1983
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Barbara B. Millhouse on December 29, 1983. [2]
Notes:
[1] Deed of Gift, object file.
[2] See note 1.
Exhibition History1976
Twentieth Century American Print Collection opening
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (12/3/1976)
2007-2008
Word Play: Text and Modern Art
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (11/13/2007-5/4/2008)
Published References
DepartmentAmerican Art
OOO
Artist
Edward Ruscha
(born 1937)
Date1970
Mediumtwo-color lithograph
DimensionsFrame: 21 5/8 x 30 1/16 in. (54.9 x 76.4 cm)
Paper (irregular): 20 1/8 x 27 3/4 in. (51.1 x 70.5 cm)
SignedE. Ruscha 1970
Credit LineGift of Barbara B. Millhouse
Copyright© Edward J. Ruscha IV / Gagosian Gallery
Object number1983.2.21
DescriptionIn their renditions of commercial brands, comic strips, and newspaper articles, Pop artists incorporated lettering as words, names, or phrases. The greatest wordsmith of the group was Ed Ruscha, who explained his sources: “Some [words] are found ready-made, some are dreams, some come from newspapers. … I don’t stand in front of a blank canvas waiting for inspiration.” [1] The allusion to ready-made objects acknowledges the influence of Marcel Duchamp, and the reference to dreams relates to Surrealism, while newspapers connect him to his peers, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein—the originators of Pop. Like so much of Ruscha’s work from the 1960s, OOO is a simple graphic of three rings presented in an understated fashion, centralized against a monochromatic backdrop. Countering the inherent simplicity is the brilliance of the saturated green, the subtlety of the highlights, and the illusion of liquid, which is furthered by several scattered drops.
Instead of paint, Ruscha experimented with such different liquids as maple syrup, bean and berry juice, and Vaseline, and in his prints he emulated their qualities. In a frank explanation of his motivation, he said “My ‘romance with liquids’ came about because I was looking for some sort of alternative entertainment for myself—an alternative from the rigid, hard-edged paintings of words that had to respect some typographical design. These [liquid words] didn’t have rules about how a letter had to be formed.”[2] OOO appears as if written in spit and further breaks the rules by not really being a word, but rather a sound, uttered perhaps by a child or by someone expressing disbelief, and in doing so spraying saliva.[3] The ambiguity rendered here is typical of Ruscha’s work, as the image could also represent candy Lifesavers. Additionally, the intense blue-green conjures associations with swimming pools—a subject he had recently explored in one of his books, Nine Swimming Pools and a Broken Glass. In reality, though, OOO is one of Ruscha’s most abstract efforts.
The lithograph was produced during a two-year hiatus from painting, when the artist was working on his books and films and exploring lithography. He worked for two months in 1969 at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles and the following year in London at the pioneering print publishers Editions Alecto. OOO was printed at Cirrus Editions Ltd. and co-published with Brooke Alexander Editions.
Notes:
[1] Ruscha quoted in Richard D. Marshall, Ed Ruscha (New York and London: Phaidon Press Limited, 2003), 160.
[2] Ruscha quoted in Marshall, Ed Ruscha, 107.
[3] See Shaune Lakin, “OOO and Lisp,” in Kenneth Tyler Printmaking Collection, http://nga.gov.au/internationalprints/Tyler/Default.cfm?MnuID=6&Essay=Ruscha_OOO
ProvenanceTo 1983
Barbara B. Millhouse, New York, NY and Winston-Salem, NC. [1]
From 1983
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Barbara B. Millhouse on December 29, 1983. [2]
Notes:
[1] Deed of Gift, object file.
[2] See note 1.
Exhibition History1976
Twentieth Century American Print Collection opening
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (12/3/1976)
2007-2008
Word Play: Text and Modern Art
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (11/13/2007-5/4/2008)
Published References
Status
Not on viewCollections
