Ed Ruscha

Shown at L&F Berlin (03–09–2011)

At the last L&F in September in Theatrum Anatomicum, we showed ‘Premium’ by Ed Ruscha, it took all summer to trace down this film. Ed Ruscha made two short films, which are rarely screened. When searching for this film, I met a guy form White Light Cinema on the internet, a new, alternative film screening series in Chicago, and he said this other Ed Ruscha film is even better. So here we are, we haven’t seen it ourselves, we have no idea what’s in it, except it involves a car mechanic whose obsession with the carburetor of a ’65 Mustang delays his date with Michelle Phillips.

1975, 16 mm, 28 min

Shown at L&F SMART project space (15–10–2010)

Ruscha’s first film, Premium, 1971, follows the artist Larry Bell — known for his cube sculptures of mirrored glass — as he attempts to make a giant salad on a bed in a cheap hotel room with model Leon Bing as one of his prime ingredients. The film, which is silent and based on Mason Williams’ 1969 short story “How to Derive the Maximum Enjoyment from Crackers” also features a lab rat “that Ed colored to look like a city rat, with a Pentel,” according to Norden.

Fantastic Man

1971, 16 mm, 26 min

Shown at L&F Theatrum Anatomicum (03–09–2010)