CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 11/12/2019

Ken Price: Drawings

“Around 1970–71 Ken Price and I drove across country from Los Angeles to New York in my wife’s 1961 Mercedes Benz 190 SL hard- top coupe with red leather interior. Kenny smoked big cigars constantly the entire distance. In Oklahoma we saw several motorcycle races and went to a circus with a sideshow featuring a tiny trailer that was home to a midget lady named ‘Princess Marguerita.’ We paid for our tickets to see her and saw that we were her only audience. Everything was in miniature, and our heads touched the ceiling. She came out and said, ‘Hello, I am Princess Marguerita, do you like my home?’ We were awestruck, and time stood still. We nodded, smiled and headed for the door. Neither of us had ever seen anything quite like the princess. Even in the noise of New York City, where we saw lots of art and artists, we would continually reference our experience with Princess Marguerita. Years later, with the heavy smell of cigars never leaving the car, the experience with the princess never left our minds.” —Ed Ruscha, quoted by Jean-Pierre Criqui, in Ken Price: Drawings. Featured image is "The Beautiful West" (2005).