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{Ed Ruscha}
It would floor me, as far as art and ah I was ready for this when I was a student and
[00:00:16]

{Jan Butterfield}
Did you intuit, remember when that show was in Pasadena, was that your first, when was that - 60?
[00:00:23]

{Ed Ruscha}
The new venue of common objects?
[00:00:25]


{Jan Butterfield}
No, the Big John show maybe 64 or something like that.
[00:00:29]


{Ed Ruscha}
Oh, no, I had seen his work before then. I had seen his work in the late 50s when I was a student
[00:00:36]

{Jan Butterfield}
Oh way back, ok way back.
[00:00:37]

{Ed Ruscha}
Before he was known as an artist.
[00:00:39]


{Jan Butterfield}
Oh, well when that show came you

{Ed Ruscha}
I wanted some answers of course, I was with some pretty serious instructors, ah, in school.
[00:00:52]
And ah, most of the instructors, just their words were that he, that this is not art.
[00:01:01]


{Jan Butterfield}
Oh yeah, oh yeah.

{Ed Ruscha}
You can't paint a symmetrical painting, you can't paint a hard edge painting.
[00:01:09]
And ah. It's just not done. And so there was no room for any kind of art like that and I guess that's what really gave birth to that idea for me.
[00:01:23]


{Jan Butterfield}
When you first saw that the like tart of the faces, and that

{Ed Ruscha}
Yeah
[00:01:28]


{Jan Butterfield}
Did you intuitively understand those paintings?
[00:01:31]


{Ed Ruscha}
Yeah, well understand, I don't know about that. But I responded and ah it ah
[00:01:39]

{Jan Butterfield}
It must be so hard for you

{Ed Ruscha}
They literally blew me away.
[00:01:43]
I just ah. You know they were so powerful to me, so curious, so strange
[00:01:48]

{Jan Butterfield}
You couldn't forget it.

{Ed Ruscha}
They were the rarest variety of, I mean I was not looking for those kind of things, but they just hit me straight between the eyes.
[00:01:56]
And I knew that they were important. And so, you know they became an obvious influence in my work.
[00:02:04]
{Jan Butterfield"}
It's interesting that you were able to see them early that would make a big difference. You've been able kind of grow with a sense what your work is about. I really
[00:02:14]