American artist Ed Ruscha attended the Chouinart Art Institute, Los Angeles. In the 1960s his paintings and graphic works of Standard gas stations and other commercial logos brought him to prominence as a leader of West Coast Pop Art. Ruscha was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters as a member of the Department of Art in 2001. He represented the United States at the 51st Venice Biennale in 2005. His work has been exhibited extensively worldwide.