Mad Scientist depicts its two-word title in neat, centrally-aligned lettering. The letters display the untouched, off-white color of the paper and are surrounded by a brightly colored background of hazy pastel shades. These letters were not outlined by hand but were positioned on the white paper using acetate stencils in the sans serif typeface. Once these inverse stencils were in place, the powdery pastel was rubbed into the paper by hand and with rags, so that the white paper shows through in places to create an impression of diffuse light behind the pastel. A fixative was then applied to maintain the crisp division between text and background, before the acetate stencils were peeled back to reveal the bare, white paper surface of the individual letters. In his reliance upon the technical aids of graphic design, Ruscha subverts the common understanding of drawing as a preparatory medium of creative skill and.... [http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ruscha-mad-scientist-ar00051]