Edward Ruscha's two Hollywood screenprints made at Cirrus [Editions] in 1970 and 1971 continued his exploration of print with organic materials that he tried contemporaneously with his 1970 portfolio News, Mews, Pews, Brews, Stews, Dues. For this portfolio, printed and published in London, Ruscha selected foodstuffs he purchased in England. For his Cirrus prints, he chose materials (Pepto Bismol and caviar for the first, grape and apricot jam and Metercal for the second) that can be associated by the viewer with the glamour and ardor of life in Southern California. While perhaps dreaded by conservators, the possibility that the prints may alter over time was welcomed by the artist as part of the artwork's natural life.
—Made in L.A. The Prints of Cirrus Editions, The Prints of Cirrus Editions in the Context of Art in Los Angeles, p. 24
Jump to minute 2:30 to hear from printer Jean Milant about the fascinating process he and Ed Ruscha implemented to create Pepto-Caviar Hollywood.
