Thirtyfour Parking Lots in Los Angeles

Here’s a surprisingly beautiful thing and surprisingly beautiful things. Who knew we’d have a thing for parking lots? First published in 1967, Thirtyfour Parking Lots in Los Angeles is another foundational title in Ed Ruscha’s series of self-published artist’s books. For this project, Ruscha bypassed the ground-level perspective of his previous works by hiring a professional aerial photographer to capture empty parking lots across the city on a quiet Sunday morning. The resulting bird’s-eye views present a deadpan, institutional catalog of urban car culture and sprawl. Stripped of human activity, the images focus entirely on geometric grid lines, architectural perimeters, and the accidental, painterly abstractions created by accumulated oil stains on the asphalt below.