This exhibition features artworks from the MOCA permanent collection that critically appropriated the imagery or conventions of commercial signs. Stretching from the 1950s to the early 2000s, Sign Language includes both art historically canonical works and new, contemporary acquisitions that had never been exhibited before. Among the former are Andy Warhol’s Mao Tse-Tung (1972), James Rosenquist’s A Lot to Like (1962), and Claes Oldenburg’s Pepsi-Cola Sign (1961). New works include Dave Muller’s handmade poster An Uncommonly Serene Moment (1998); Pae White’s banner-like Pony Girl Series: Rotterdam/Silverlake, CA/Tokyo/Curacao/Munich (1996); Ron Terada’s standard-issue freeway sign, Entering City of Vancouver (2002); and Sam Durant's We Are The People (2003). Other artists in the exhibition include Robert Barry, Nancy Dwyer, Robert Frank, Lee Friedlander, Larry Johnson, Craig Kauffman, Barbara Kruger, Milan Kunc, Manuel Ocampo, Richard Prince, Allen Ruppersberg, Mitchell Syrop, and Christopher Wool.
Sign Language is organized by Michael Darling, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.