Title:
Various Small Fires
Style: Contemporary (ca. 1945-present)
Medium: Prints, Lithograph, black offset printing on white paper
Year: 1964
Size: height - 7.13 in, width - 5.5 in, depth - 0.19 in
Markings: unsigned, as issued (with glassine jacket)
Edition: Second Edition of 3000
Foundry/Publisher: Anderson, Ritchie & Simon, Los Angeles, Published by Ruscha
Catalogue Raisonné: B2
Author: Engberg
Estimate: from $500 to $600
Seller's Description:
The books, begun in 1963, were Ruscha’s first foray into working with the published image, producing the most renowned series of artist’s books. These books were not only about editions, but the replication of reproductions. Each book was made up of a series of photographs, the books aptly named for their visual content.
The industrial feel of offset lithography that Ruscha was exposed to in a short apprenticeship with Saul Marks at Plantain Press showed in his artist’s books, and soon he begun to receive recognition for this unique body of work.
Various Small Fires contains 48 pages and 16 offset reproductions of the artist's black and white photographs. Ruscha displays his sense of humor as the title page opens and adds to the title so it becomes Various Small Fires and Milk, the book then revealing 16 depicting sources of fire and the final image depicting a glass of milk at a dinner table.
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