Safe and Effective Medication

Ed Ruscha (b. 1937) is an American artist whose decades-long career melds Pop Art iconography and Conceptual Art. He is best known for his ‘word paintings’ of single words or short phrases that float in the middle of the composition. The exploration of text, semantics and image reflects Ruscha’s early training in commercial graphic design and his engagement with the American vernacular. “Safe and Effective Medication” is a lithograph of a dark fuzzy cloudy sky with these words superimposed over it. Ruscha’s choice of words are poetic and deadpan, a seemingly wry documentary on current opioid crisis and vaccine conspiracies. The artist’s works are held in the collections worldwide, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. He continues to live and work in Los Angeles.