Edward Ruscha – Petro Plots: Pico/Sepulveda, 2001
Handmade paper, embossing
In Petro Plots: Pico/Sepulveda (2001), Edward Ruscha transforms the urban grid of Los Angeles into a tangible material map. The street names Pico and Sepulveda emerge within the rough surface of handmade paper, where embossing and texture evoke earth, dust, and asphalt.
The work demonstrates how everyday urban structures rise beyond their functional role to become symbols of cultural identity. Ruscha’s choice of paper with irregular edges and a grainy surface reinforces the direct connection between landscape and material.