Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
Christina Ramberg was an influential Chicago Imagist and is known for her depiction of the female form, normally in a constrictive and/or sexual context. Like most Imagists, Ramberg drew a great deal of her inspiration from comics and especially from adult, underground comics that were becoming increasing popular in the late 60s. Along with the influence of other Chicago Imagists like her teacher Ray Yoshida, these adult comics helped Ramberg to develop the simple, sexual, and often cartoon style she was known for. Many of her pieces display women’s bodies being constricted or contorted to unnatural proportions and emphasizing both the sexual and painful results of such manipulation. At the cutting edge of second-wave feminism, Ramberg used her constrained subjects to highlight the objectification of women and the unrealistic standards they are held to seem desirable. Untitled (Corset) is a perfect example of an article of clothing that was designed solely for the objectification of women and their transformation into something that ‘men want women to look like’ in Ramberg’s own words. The plain brown palette and simple black lines are reflective of the cosmetic process’s careful application and banal status in our society. This work is a strong statement about the mundane and disturbing standards women are held to due to societal pressure for women to force themselves to be highly desirable and inhumanly perfect. The simplicity of the work is deceptive for the message is cloaked behind a beige canvas and a seemingly normal corset, but therein lies the quality of Ramberg’s work as that too plays into the way we as a society view objects of female sexualization and discomfort.