Photograph: Edward Ruscha/Norton Simon Museum, Gift of the Men's Committee
Copied form the Guardian blog spot
JOnathan Jones suggests it is a post modernist satire on the syrupy nature of the story of Annie, but is also a skilfully executed painting which represents the glossy, sticky look of poured treacle. It was painted at a time when there was a vigorous debate in American art about the purity and flatness of abstract painting, while Ruscha's image here does exactly the opposite, portraying the shiny, silky, stickiness of treacle. It may also be saying something about the meaning of language, or the lack of meaning. Why "Annie"? Why not?
I like the painting, it is witty and playful but also serious, and also very cleverly painted. So far, among the many images and artists whose work I've looked at in relation to the use of writing and words in art, there are very few which use text but present it in such a polished and painterly way.
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