“The whole point of my art, is that art grows out of art. That is central, no matter whether it is high art, low art, popular or what. Comic books, girlie magazines, magazine ads, billboards are all art to me.”
—Mel Ramos
Resting in a martini glass, looking over her shoulder with her legs split in a burlesque pose inspired by Dita Von Teese, the sculpture Dita epitomises Mel Ramos’ focus on the exploration of the female nude in painted and sculpted form. Defying hierarchies between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art, the Californian artist took inspiration from mass media and advertising, similarly to Pop artists Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol. Drawing on a motif with a long tradition in Western art history, Ramos thus transformed the nude into a celebration of the female form as well as contemporary culture.