The Whole Business of Man is The Arts, & All Things Common.
William BlakeRead
Basically everything I've done in art, I was in possession of when I was 20 years old. I use a waste retrieval method of working. I'll go back and use something that disgusted me 15 years ago but that I had enough sense to think about. Some artists change dramatically. I see my work more like history being written.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects on the idea that an artist's work is an accumulation of their past experiences and thoughts, rather than dramatic changes in style.
Edward Ruscha suggests that his artistic journey has been shaped significantly by the experiences and ideas he held at a young age, emphasizing a method of revisiting and reinterpreting earlier concepts. He describes his approach to art as a 'waste retrieval method,' implying that he sees value in past disgust or discarded notions, and integrates them into his current work, presenting his art as a continuous narrative that evolves over time rather than radically transforming.
Themes
ArtHistoryCreativityRevisitExperience
In practice
Example use cases
During an art lecture on the evolution of modern art, this quote serves to illustrate how artists often build on past ideas.
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