Step 4: Interpretation We hope this approach has Edward Joseph Ruscha, American, enhanced your exploration and born 1937 In the same year, Ruscha completed Interpretation involves bringing enjoyment of this . If you this -sized painting of the Stan- together your close observation, Standard Station, A Closer Look like, you can try this method with dard Oil gas station at the corner of analysis, and any additional Amarillo, Texas other works of art. Simply ask Polk Street and North East Eighth information you have gathered yourself with each work: 1963 Street in Amarillo, Texas. Yellow about a work of art to try to Oil on canvas searchlights scan the night sky, beckon- understand what it means. Gift of James Meeker, Class of 1958, in What do I see? ing travelers to this pristine, red-white- memory of Lee English, Class of 1958, and-blue structure bathed in fluores- (Close Observation) scholar, poet, athlete and friend to all; There can be multiple interpreta- P.976.281. cent light. The searchlights are the tions of a work of art. The best- artist’s invention, lifted from the logo What do I think? informed ones are based on visual of Twentieth-Century Fox, which he (Analysis) evidence and accurate research. had earlier incorporated into his 1962 The California-based contemporary painting Large Trademark with Eight How can I learn more? Some interpretive questions to artist Edward Ruscha has produced Spotlights. In both works, the company (Research) consider for this painting might , , prints, films, and logo is dramatically rendered as an be: books that merge remarkable graphic architectural structure that takes the What might it mean? skill with a strong interest in vernacular form of a diagonal wedge, dividing the (Interpretation) n What do you think this artist culture. Like , Roy canvas in two through an exaggerated, was trying to express about gas Lichtenstein, and other artists associ- plunging perspective. The attention to How do I feel about it? stations in America in 1963? ated with the international detail found in the precise lines, angles, (Critical Assessment and movement of the 1960s, Ruscha and lettering reflectsR uscha’s recent Response) rejected the gestural, painterly modes work in an advertising agency, which n How does this painting call to of abstract expressionism in favor of mind the culture of the 1950s also encouraged his interest in subject This brochure was written by Vivian Ladd, the dry, impersonal manner of com- matter like signs, trademarks, and and 1960s? Museum Educator, and Michael Taylor, mercial illustration. During the late gas stations that had previously been Director of the Hood Museum of Art. 1950s and early 1960s, Ruscha made considered too generic or mundane n What does this image suggest The Hood Museum of Art thanks Judy and frequent road trips between his child- for oil painting. As the artist wryly ex- about the role of gas and gas Charles Hood, Class of 1951, for their hood home in and his plained, “I don’t have any Seine River support of this brochure. stations in America today? adopted home of . Travel- like Monet. I just have U.S. 66 between © 2013 Trustees of Dartmouth College ling along U.S. Route 66, Ruscha began Oklahoma and Los Angeles.” Art © Ed Ruscha taking photographs of the solitary gasoline stations that punctuate the Standard Station, Amarillo, Texas Step 5: Critical Assessment long, desolate stretches of this iconic helped to define both Pop Art and the and Response highway, linking his autobiography modern American landscape in the This final stage involves a judg- with his subject matter for the first 1960s. Its monumental scale, horizon- ment of the success of a work time. Ruscha later stated that he had tal format, and roadside subject matter been “awakened” by the movies of of art. Critical assessment deals quickly led art critics to suggest that John Ford, “especially Grapes of Ruscha had identified the canvas with a with questions of value and can Wrath where the poor ‘Okies’ (mostly car windshield or a highway billboard. include more personal and sub- farmers whose land dried up) go to However, the reference to the Fox jective responses to art. Critical California with mattresses on their searchlights signals that the artist may assessment can also change over cars rather than stay in Oklahoma and also have had in mind Hollywood’s time. starve.” The photographs that Ruscha panoramic screen portrayals of the took along U.S. Route 66, as a hope- open road and its promise of freedom Overall, do you think this paint- ful “Okie” headed west to become an and adventure, as well as loneliness ing is successful and well done? artist, were included in his first book, and the broken dreams of the Grapes Why or why not? Twenty-Six Gasoline Stations. This of Wrath. The painting also seems to self-published, pocket-sized volume, represent a prophetic statement about Do you like it? Does it move you? which appeared in 1963, had a major American dependence on gasoline influence on attitudes toward the oil, as well as a delightful pun on the Does this image represent issues democratic dissemination of art in the medium of choice for painters since that are still relevant today? Why form of artist’s books and multiples— the fifteenth century. or why not? a trend linked to Pop Art’s interest hood museum of art in commercial distribution and mass consumption. dartmouth college

number seven in a series The sign? Step 2: Analysis A Closer Look Now think about all of this visual information. The sky? The Hood Museum of Art is a teaching museum. Our mission is to Where do you think this gas station is located? Why? create an ideal learning environment that fosters transformative encounters with works of art. One way we do this is through a method What time period do you think this is? called Learning to Look. This five-step approach to exploring works of art is designed to empower visitors to observe carefully and think What time of day is it? critically about any work of art. What seems to be missing from this painting? Simply follow the steps below to practice this technique. Where would you need to be in order to see this scene from this point of view?

Step 1: Close Observation What effect do all of the diagonal lines have on how you see this painting? How would it be different if you saw this gas station straight Look carefully at this painting. on and it was made up of horizontal and vertical lines instead?

What do you see? Does this painting remind you of other types of images?

As you consider each of these questions, look to the painting for clues to support your ideas.

Step 3: Research Now that you have had a chance to look carefully and begin forming your own ideas about this work of art, feel free to read the text printed on the back of this brochure. It provides information you cannot get What do you notice about the composition (the way in which the simply by looking at the painting. objects are arranged in this painting)? When you have finished reading, consider the following: Name the shapes. Describe the lines. List the colors. Does this information reinforce what you observed and deduced on your own?

What do you notice about the Did the text mention anything you did not see or think about gas station? previously? If so, what? How would your experience of this painting have been different if you read the background information first?

How would you describe the artist’s style? How has he applied the paint? Can you see any brushstrokes?