“Clasificame Esta” by Maria de Mater O’Neill

The piece “Clasificame Esta” by Puerto Rican artist Maria de Mater O’Neill really spoke to me as a piece depicting a modern vision of “The New Woman.” I was first drawn to the piece’s overarching themes of female strength, empowerment, and passion. In this lithograph print, there is a percieved duality between the strong, almost superhero-esque qualities women possess, but also her sensual, softer side, as depicted when she is with a lover. I am also drawn to Maria de Mater O’Neill’s art style, as her style is similar to that of the Golden Age of comics. To me, the way she depicts the women in the print is very reminiscent of the old Batman and Superman Pop-Art comics. 

Maria de Mater O’Neill is a Puerto Rican artist, born in 1960 in San Juan. She received her BFA in 1984 from the Cooper Union School of Art and Design in New York City, and her Doctorate in Design Practice (DDP) in 2014 from Northumbria University in the United Kingdom. Throughout her life, Maria de Mater O’Neill has immersed herself in multiple design-oriented positions, including co-founding the Rubberband Design Studio, lecturing at multiple universities within her home country of Puerto Rico, and establishing herself as an experienced cultural producer, having created the first cultural e-magazine in Latin America, titled “El Cuarto del Quenepón.” This e-magazine was one of the earliest of its kind on the internet written in Spanish, and even in the world! In addition to these impressive feats, she has also established herself as an accomplished writer, creative director, and researcher. 

During her career as an artist, Maria de Mater O’Neill has been known to work in both the painting and lithograph print mediums. Lithography is defined as the process of “draw[ing] with a greasy material on a lithographic stone, and then chemically treat[ing] the stone to etch [a] drawing into the stone, which can then be inked to produce many impressions on paper.” (“Lithography”) One of her most well-known works is the lithograph “Clasificame Esta,” meaning “define this” in English. “Clasificame Esta” is a lithograph print completed in 1999, and is currently held in the Lehigh University Art Galleries, as well as the Puerto Rico Museum of Art. This piece can definitely be interpreted as a feminist piece focused on themes of female triumph and empowerment. In this piece, two women are depicted having an epic battle against one another that ends in a passionate scene of love. However, I feel like the piece’s meaning cannot be fully defined, and I believe Maria de Mater O’Neill solidified this idea by naming the piece “Define This.” I interpret the piece’s title as a question, asking the viewer to create their own meaning for the piece and its general themes of female triumph, empowerment, and passion.