MEL RAMOS POP ART FANTASIES: THE COMPLETE PAINTINGS

In 1961, Mel Ramos emerged on the international art scene along with Warhol, Liechtenstein, Oldenburg, Wesselmann, and Rosenquist as part of the second post-war American art movement to gain historical importance: pop art. More than 470 of Ramos' greatest paintings and drawings are reproduced in this comprehensive survey. Ramos is among the most vigorously American and most strikingly "pop" of all the pop art artists. Ramos' indentification with pop art began with his portraits of the great costumed heroes of pre-Code comics books. From Batman and others, Ramos went on to explore the world of the pinup and nudes derived from men's magazines, such as Playboy, Penthouse, and "girlie" calendars. His well-known series of nudes comment ironically on the picture of women projected by the mass media and consumer advertising, and at the same time wittily suggest its antecedents in the tradition of the nude in Western art.