| By: Dan Laget |
| Edition: 13 January 2009 |
No picture can do this artist's work justice: you must see it in person to experience its grandeur, passion and power. It is sexual. It is sensual. It is sublime. Artist, and SMC art professor, CJ Mammarella, has captured the primordial conflict between gender roles and vulnerabilities. Man the hunter; woman the gatherer. But every man is part gatherer and every woman part hunter. These instincts are genetic. Both genders are vulnerable. “A lot of my work is directed at where you fit and how that changes your relationship with other people. It's about how you identify yourself and how you are identified by other people; the way you perceive the world and the way you live in the world and what you get out of it,” said Professor Mammarella.Her graphite drawing entitled “Herself” (right) is intriguing. It depicts a beautiful woman with large goats ears wearing only a thong and high heel boots. In classical mythology, the the satyr was the only partially human creature that had horns or goats ears; the satyr was always male. This image captures the conflict between gender roles. The satyr is the symbol of licentiousness, sex drive and sexual violation. He relentlessly pursued carnal gratification with little regard for the woman's needs or wants. Conquest was his only objective. Yet, in this image, the woman is the satyr. The roles are reversed - the woman is the hunter. She is the conqueror. This image also characterizes gender roles in most cultures. Some men are highly masculine and some effeminate. Of course, the same applies to women. Historically, effeminate men have been persecuted, beaten, and even killed for something they have no control over; sexual orientation. Perhaps some women have too. Nevertheless, exposing and confronting the reality that we all have both masculine and feminine sides within us might lead to better understanding and tolerance of gender roles in our culture. “It's all about dialogue and sharing perspectives. I think with opening up communication there is hope to live richly, if not somewhat more peacefully. Be happy to agree to disagree,” she said. Professor Mammarella's work has been exhibited in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. Through drawing, she creates visceral, sensual landscapes that address the viewer intimately touching on their vulnerability, judgments and tolerances. Presently, she splits her time living and working in both San Francisco and Los Angeles.She has been teaching drawing and design at SMC since 2000 and plans to teach this spring.
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