Editing Edward Ruscha (section)

===Early influences===
While in school in 1957, Ruscha chanced upon then unknown [[Jasper Johns]]' ''Target with Four Faces'' in the magazine ''[[Print (magazine)|Print]]'' and was greatly moved. Ruscha has credited this artist's work as a source of inspiration for his change of interest from [[graphic arts]] to [[painting]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bierut |first=Michael |date=2004-07-12 |title=Ed Ruscha: When Art Rises to the Level of Graphic Design |url=https://designobserver.com/ed-ruscha-when-art-rises-to-the-level-of-graphic-design/ |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=DesignObserver |language=en-US}}</ref> He was also impacted by [[John McLaughlin (artist)|John McLaughlin]]'s paintings, the work of [[H. C. Westermann|H.C. Westermann]], [[Arthur Dove]]'s 1925 painting ''Goin' Fishin''', [[Alvin Lustig]]'s cover illustrations for [[New Directions Press]], and much of [[Marcel Duchamp]]'s work. In a 1961 tour of Europe, Ruscha came upon more works by Johns and [[Robert Rauschenberg]], [[Renato Bertelli|R. A. Bertelli]]'s ''Head of [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]]'', and ''[[Ophelia (painting)|Ophelia]]'' by [[Sir John Everett Millais]]. Some critics are quick to see the influence of [[Edward Hopper]]'s ''[[Gas (painting)|Gas]]'' (1940) in Ruscha's 1963 oil painting, ''Standard Station, Amarillo, Texas.''<ref>Wells, Walter, Silent Theater: The Art of Edward Hopper, London/New York: Phaidon, 2007.</ref> In any case, "Art has to be something that makes you scratch your head," Ruscha said.