Canada, U.S.A., Mexico

Ed Ruscha's desolate panoramas are seen through the frame of his car's windshield, the extreme horizontals reminiscent of wide-screen movie formats like Panavision and CinemaScope. The vast, uneasy expanse is punctuated by miniature words and phrases that force the viewer to travel along the horizon line to read them. Canada, U.S.A., Mexico encourages consideration of the relationship among the three countries which, from this perspective, appear borderless. The exaggerated curvature of the earth's surface emphasizes the irrelevance of the imposed boundaries.

Credit: Bequest of Edith S. and Arthur J. Levin