In each of the Dedication Stones drawings, Ruscha renders a different short word or symbol containing the letter x, which for him represents the ultimate variable, an endlessly adaptable surrogate for other ideas. It is also a literal component of the various terms and names he illustrates—Bix, Mix, Fix, Tax, and so on—the use of similar-sounding words recalling Ruscha’s screen-print portfolio News, Mews, Pews, Brews, Stews & Dues (1970). Viewed and read sequentially, the words also prompt a staccato enunciation that begins to supersede their established meanings.

But while Ruscha engages with the words as abstract lingual units, their cultural associations ultimately remain in play; each drawing bears a subtitle that places its subject in a specific context. Often, these display the artist’s droll sense of humor—thus Fix (Dedicated to the 99 World Series) references the notorious baseball game-rigging scandal; XXX (Dedicated to a Jug of Whiskey) alludes to the traditional marker of triple distillation on containers of moonshine; and Xit (Dedicated to Ways Out) (all ) employs a deliberate misspelling.

At the same time, the gray tonality, stippled texture, classical serif fonts, and trompe l’oeil pins of the drawings suggest chiseled stone, galvanizing an association with monuments and tombstones—even as their ‘torn’ edges seem to depict paper surfaces. Beyond simply paying tribute, then, they might also be read as commemorating or presaging the demise of their subjects; while some works feature living people and extant places, among them are also legendary figures of the past, such as the great jazz trumpet player Bix Beiderbecke and the racing car driver Jacky Ickx.