Stains
  • artists' book
  • boxed edition
  • loose leaves
  • slipcase
  • black-and-white & color
  • 31.6 x 28.7 cm.
  • [75] pp.
  • edition size 70
  • signed and numbered

Stains

Edward Ruscha

Stains

description

Artist''s book in the format of a boxed portfolio of 75 stains in various media on loose, numbered sheets with screen printed title page, an index page, and signed and numbered colophon sheet. Each white page has been stained with a different material as indexed below. The artist''s blood is additionally included as the 76th stain to the satin of the interior bottom of the portfolio''s box.

1. Los Angeles Tap Water
2. Pacific Ocean Salt Water
3. Eyewash (Murine)
4. Witch Hazel (Borbro distilled)
5. Acetone (Gray Cross)
6. Bleach (Clorox)
7. Hydrogen Peroxide (Gray Cross)
8. Candlewax (Halo)
9. Spot Remover (Energine)
10. Antiseptic (Listerine)
11. Turpentine (T&R Factors of Texas)
12. Sperm (Human)
13. Ant
14. Gunpowder (DuPont superfine)
15. Rust Solvent (Liquid Wrench)
16. Lacquer Thinner (Sinclairs)
17. Topsoil
18. Drain Cleaner (Liquid Drano)
19. Eau de Cologne (Partner)
20. Beer (Coors)
21. Nail Enamel (L''Oreal Coffee Caramel)
22. Gasoline (Mobil Ethyl)
23. Spirits of Peppermint (Borbro)
24. Oil of Wintergreen (Borbro)
25. Castor Oil (Borbro)
26. Glacial Acetic Acid (Robinson)
27. Sulfuric Acid (Mallinckrodt)
28. Butch Wax with lanolin
29. Wine (Chateau Latour 1962)
30. Glue (Wilhold Glu-bird)
31. Bacon Grease
32. Leather Dye (Shinola)
33. Tincture Merthiolate (Norco)
34. Urine (Human)
35. Lacquer (Pactra clear)
36. Shellac (Master Mixed orange)
37. Varnish (Grumbacher spray damar)
38. Petroleum Jelly (Vaseline)
39. Milk (Knudsen)
40. Coca Cola
41. Ammonia (Goodwin''s)
42. Tobacco (Gauloise)
43. Salad Dressing (Kraft Roka blue cheese)
44. Bourbon (Old Charter)
45. Egg Yolk
46. Egg White
47. Chocolate Syrup (Hershey''s)
48. Grass
49. Glycerine (Alvarado Pharmacy)
50. Rose Petal (American Beauty)
51. Oil Paint (Bellini Cad. Yellow Deep)
52. Pepper Sauce (Tabasco)
53. Ketchup (Heinz)
54. Spinach
55. Green Onion
56. Radish (Red)
57. Parsley
58. Beet
59. Turnip
60. Pepper (Yellow)
61. Cabbage (Red)
62. Tea (Lipton''s)
63. Coffee (Yuban)
64. Apple Juice (Tree Top Pure)
65. India Ink (Pelikan)
66. Mustard (French''s)
67. Cocoa Butter (Hershey''s)
68. Dairy Butter
69. Worcestershire Sauce (Lea & Perrins)
70. Olive Oil (Star)
71. Mineral Oil (Squibb)
72. Motor Oil (Texaco 30W-HD)
73. Meat (T-Bone)
74. Molasses (Brer Rabbit)
75. Cinnamon Oil (Magnus, Mabee & Reynard)

The work can be "read" as an autobiography of the artist—or a religious reliquary hewing to Ruscha''s Catholic upbringing—as Ruscha considers this publication to be a book, not a print portfolio.

Ruscha''s unpublished notes state, "To examine ''STAINS'' remove index (second page) sheet for reference. Take entire contents from book and turn from left to right. Turn upside down away from book then begin with blood of artist and read book backwards; each time turning separator sheets and pages right side up and back into book; numbers up. Touch only outside of pages. To smell iIndividual stains do not touch nose to paper as this will in turn leave another stain."

references

"Book as Artwork 1960 / 1972" by Germano Celant. London, United Kingdom : Nigel Greenwood Inc. Ltd., 1972, pp. 75.
"The Works of Edward Ruscha" by Anne Livet, Henry T. Hopkins, Peter Plagens, Dave Hickey. New York / San Francisco, NY / CA : Hudson Hills Press / San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1982, pp. 169.
"Edward Ruscha : Editions 1959 - 1999. Catalogue Raisonné" by Edward Ruscha, Siri Engberg, Clive Phillpot. Minneapolis / New York, MN / NY : Walker Art Center / D. A. P, 1999
"Edward Ruscha : Editions 1959 - 1999. Catalogue Raisonné" by Siri Engberg, Clive Phillpot. Minneapolis / New York, MN / NY : Walker Art Center / D. A. P, 1999, pp. 125.
No. A1969.14 in "Ed Ruscha : An Archive of Projects [Other Stuff]" by Robert Dean, Al Ruppersberg, David Platzker, Michael Friend. New York, NY : Gagosian, 2022, pp. 112.
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