Allen Ruppersberg: Then and Now

The illuminated photographs were taken from the vantage point of billboards across Cleveland—from the roadways along Lake Erie and the steelyards to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. These billboards no longer deliver commercial messages, but rather offer the viewer unseen perspectives of the city—that is, what the billboard “sees” from up above. The wallpaper behind the photographs shows the massive steel structures supporting each billboard, connecting the commonplace urban forms to Cleveland’s industrial past.

Commissioned by FRONT International: Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art

Image: 1400 West 25th Street at Detroit Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 2018. Allen Ruppersberg (American, b. 1944). LED light box with Duratran film, vinyl wallpaper.  Photo © The Cleveland Museum of Art. Courtesy of the artist.