LOS ANGELES.- The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, presents Chocolate Room, on vie through January 17, 2005. Ed Ruscha's Chocolate Room made a true sensation when it debuted at the Venice Biennale in 1970. A major new MOCA acquisition and Ruscha's only installation work, Chocolate Room consists of 360 shingle-like sheets of paper silk-screened with chocolate. In the summer of 1970, Ruscha was invited by Henry Hopkins to participate in the 35th Venice Biennale. Hopkins's idea for the American Pavilion was to present a survey of American printmaking, rather than a monographic exhibition, with an on-site workshop for the artists. At the time, Ruscha had just started to work with organic materials in his prints, using everything from baked beans to cherry juice instead of traditional inks. Recreated to accompany Cotton Puffs, Q-tips®, Smoke and Mirrors: The Drawings of Ed Ruscha, Chocolate Room’s rich velvet-like surfaces and heady aroma create an extraordinary environment that stimulates the senses.