A Link to the Past : Ties to women’s ‘cultural history’ are explored in an exhibit at Pierce College.

One can identify with and appreciate the essence of an artwork in and of itself without any knowledge of an art ist’s life. But often one can also learn a lot about an artist from an artwork, because art is really inseparable from the person who created it.

For its annual members’ show this year, the Southern California Women’s Caucus for Art set out to organize an exhibit of work that would represent a variety of women’s voices, cultural identities and experiences. The group--part of a national organization of more than 3,500 members--asked Amalia Mesa-Baines, an artist and a writer and lecturer on Latino art, to curate the show.

“She is a person that a lot of women look up to,” said Anita Holguin, the local organization’s president. “She’s well-known for promoting cultural awareness.”

Mesa-Baines selected 31 works--paintings, prints, mixed media, sculpture and photography--by 14 artists for the show, entitled “Living Links to Cultural Images.” It is on view in Pierce College’s Art Gallery.

“The idea of the show is that we are our past, we are extensions of our past,” said gallery director Joan Kahn. “The art is an extension of that cultural history, in respect to the individual artist. You just can’t escape the fact that (your) art is you. These are pieces that the artists felt really represented their cultural history.”

Though the artists’ backgrounds may be different, common themes run through several works on display.

Diane Gage’s very large silk painting “Mother Dreaming” portrays a dynamic woman connected to her baby by an umbilical cord. Gage has infused this mother figure with boundless energy through her robust illustration of the female form, her use of bold colors and the small images of everyday objects that seem to be floating within the woman’s body.

Kahn, pointing out the effort and skill necessary to paint on silk and to do so in such detail, said: “Each little bit is virtuosic. As a whole, it becomes this great image.”

Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin presents two other more delicate views of motherhood in her prints “Madrecita” and “Virgen Negra.” The elegant sculpture “Cast Iron Virgin” by Darlene Nguyen-Ely is primarily wood, but the Virgin’s halo and ladder-like wings are made of iron. Perhaps Nguyen-Ely intends to comment on the mettle needed to fulfill the role of the saintly mother.

Beverly Decker used glass pieces and other found objects to build her petite, earthly “Angel” sculpture. Her considerably bigger “Altar” incorporates cast-off surfboards to make a statement about California culture.

Pop culture meets religion head-on in Simone Gad’s mixed-media piece, “All This and Madonna.”

Adorning an image of a young Elvis Presley on stage, with fans thrusting themselves toward him, are sequins, a pot of plastic flowers, a deck of “The Best of Elvis” playing cards and a framed Madonna and Child image. With breezy, broad brush strokes of paint, Gad unites all these elements to make a wry commentary on our culture’s penchant for idol worship.

In a different vein, Nancy Webber finds similarities in the faces of ordinary, contemporary people and those who lived long ago. She does this by creating works that feature side-by-side photographs.

Her “Olmec Head / Juan Manuel Munoz” pairs her photo of a stone Olmec head with her shot of a worker at a Cancun hotel. “Mayan Musician / Lihiu Zhang” juxtaposes the musician with the likeness of a Ph.D. candidate at USC’s School of Cinema-TV. The resemblances of the two faces in each work would be remarkable even if they weren’t separated by many centuries.

Other artists represented in the show: Linda Arreola, Nancy A. Jones, Rosalyn Mesquita, Alyce Quinonez-Rodriguez, Masako Takahashi, Thelma Toles and Rosa M.

Where and When

What: “Living Links To Cultural Images, Southern California Women’s Caucus for Art 1994 Annual Membership Juried Exhibit.”

Location: Pierce College Art Gallery, 6201 Winnetka Ave., Woodland Hills.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Thursday. Ends Dec. 9.

Price: Free.

Call: (818) 719-6498.