Within the scope of Chicano and Chicana art exists the idea of dissimilation: the breaking down of this particular genre of art by including art that contrasts or creates exceptions. The artist and film maker, Poli Marichal fits perfectly into this subject. Primarily a print-maker, her work has been included in several Chicana/o art collectives with pieces that express social, and environmental concerns, as well as visions of the human condition. One of the things that makes her exceptional is the fact that she is neither Mexican nor of Mexican descent but is still included in the genre of Chican/o art.
Poli Marichal was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where she earned a B.A. in printmaking at Escuela de Artes Plásticas de Puerto Rico, and later an MFA at the Massachusetts College of Art. Marichal often delves into the ideas of immigration and family roots. In the painted piece, “Intruder” (2009), the cactus represents the southern immigrant who breaks through the groundwork of it’s new environment as it grows and makes it’s new home. Many of her pieces are known for including trees as symbols. She states that they represent the need for individuals to feel rooted and “safe” while at the same time transcending these needs with others and attempting to branch out “into the cosmos.”
Her most recent projects include animated shorts, both personal and public, and a permanent mural found in LA. The mural, installed on a wall at Avenue 50 studio gallery is comprised of carved wooden panels. Made in 2007, Marichal directed the high school and college students that created the piece for the non-profit organization, LA Commons.
As Gloria Anzaldúa mentions in her book, Borderlands, feminism is a subject that reaches multiple races, cultures, and geographies. That third-world feminism is a specific type of feminism is true and can result in a type of sisterhood, as exemplified by Marichal’s work and contributions to both the Puerto Rican community and the Chicano community.
Additional Sources:
http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/4155-poli-marichal