Exercise Handbag c. 1968

Curator: This quirky piece is "Exercise Handbag," a drawing made around 1968 by the artist Suellen Rocca. Editor: Oh, I love this. It looks like a playful doodle, something you might find in a really cool person's notebook. There's such a strange, dreamlike quality. Is that…tiny people all over the bag? Curator: Exactly. Rocca was part of the Chicago Imagists, a group of artists who often incorporated surreal and cartoonish elements to challenge conventional artistic norms. This drawing on paper uses ink, specifically in blue. The central handbag is decorated with miniature human figures seemingly engaged in various acts, suggesting the "exercise" of the title. Editor: So, is this about how women's lives and bodies were sort of contained, managed, or “exercised” in the 60s? The handbag becomes this strange world with its own rules. It almost feels unsettling if you look at it that way. Curator: Yes, that's precisely it. We need to consider this work within its feminist context. Rocca’s work uses familiar objects – handbags, garments – as stages upon which to explore the social constraints placed on women and their self-representation at the time. It cleverly utilizes accessible pop-art-infused imagery while exploring themes of gender, identity, and confinement. Notice the stars along the border—do they soften the message or underscore its artificiality? Editor: That’s interesting. I didn’t think about the stars, but it really gives it this off-kilter nursery rhyme kind of feel – innocent but with an unsettling undertone. Plus, those figures above the bag – it’s like different positions in a work-out class, echoing the title. What seems light-hearted has a definite sharp edge. Curator: Precisely, it holds that tension well. Rocca questions dominant narratives through imagery that’s simultaneously inviting and subversive. It's a smart commentary about feminine expectations and the pressures exerted upon women’s lives during that era. Editor: Looking at this piece makes me think about what things we carry with us, not just in handbags, but emotionally too, that weigh us down. It kind of flips expectations of what art ‘should’ be. Really sticks with you. Curator: I agree. It provides a wonderful portal into considering art's role in broader socio-political issues.