Your A Dead Man (Country Cityscapes series)
- Artist: Edward Ruscha
- Date: 2001
- Medium: Photogravure with silkscreened text
- Dimensions: unconfirmed: 457 x 356 mm
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is “Your A Dead Man” by Edward Ruscha. Made in 2001 with a photogravure process, the print shows a snowy mountain, pine forest and lake, rendered with the deep tonal depth that this copper‑plate technique gives. On top of the landscape are four irregular white rectangles that block out the title. The blanking mimics a common advertising trick—covering text to create intrigue. The words themselves, borrowed from cowboy films, are meant as threats, “You’re a Dead Man.” By wiping them out, Ruscha turns the threat into a visual absence, a kind of censorship that forces the viewer to confront the silence behind the pastoral scene.
The work sits in a portrait format, framed by a thick white border and a thin black mount, giving it a clean, almost book‑like presentation. It’s part of his Country Cityscapes series, where landscapes meet pop‑culture slogans, challenging us to think about how even the American West is framed by cultural narratives.
See it in person
Your A Dead Man (Country Cityscapes series) is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
