Photo: from Thirtyfour Parking Lots in Los Angeles, Ed Ruscha
RESEARCH

Capturing the Mundane

Seeing the patterns of car parks with Ed Ruscha

Famed for his contribution to Pop Art, Ed Ruscha is known also for capturing moments and environments of the everyday. Fascinated with swimming pools, gas stations and parking lots after noticing them around LA where he lived and worked, he published his artist’s book Thirtyfour Parking Lots in Los Angeles in 1967.
In this work, we see abstracted versions of mundane parking lots. They become pure pattern: mathematically repeating lines, gigantic circles and sensuous arcs. Ed Ruscha offers viewers a new perspective of LA – and our own nearest city – highlighting the formal geometric beauty of otherwise unremarkable locations.
Photo: from Thirtyfour Parking Lots in Los Angeles, Ed Ruscha
"Seeing the topside of something instead of necessarily looking directly on baseline perspective, looking over the top of something allows for [more of a] view to do with perspective. Things diminish and come into the foreground"
Ed Ruscha
Photo: from Thirtyfour Parking Lots in Los Angeles, Ed Ruscha