shashasha

Sixty years on, along Route 66 between Oklahoma City and Los Angeles, Philippe Séclier has revisited iconic photographic series of Ed Ruscha. This project is in the same vein as Séclier’s previous artistic explorations, in which he takes hold of a work of art to bring us to rediscover it. Inspired by Ruscha's cult books, “Real Road Test,” with its intimate format and soft cover, pays tribute to a timeless work while reappropriating it with a slight offbeat twist, playing on words and images.

Guided by the precise coordinates of each of these locations, Philippe Séclier creates his own compositions that portray the contemporary American urban landscape. He revisits the titles of the different series as much as their concepts: the petrol stations are no longer 26 but 36, the nine swimming pools are just one seen from nine different angles, it is no longer the buildings but the crossroads that are listed on Sunset Strip, and Ruscha's various studios become a photographic series in their own right. A Few Parking Lots, Some Palm Trees, One Swimming Pool, Every Crossing on Sunset Strip, Studios Estate Opportunities and Various Los Angeles Apartments are the different series that compose this book.

At the end, an illustrated bibliography from Philippe Séclier's personal collection, entitled Then & Now Books, illustrates the breadth of books by and about Ruscha, with over 60 titles.