Feb. 21--Have you seen that great David Lynch movie "The Elephant Woman"?
No? You must have missed the recent exhibition of Berlin-based artist Daniela Comani. Her show "My Film History" featured 100 classic film posters with a twist: All gender assignments were reversed.
"King Kong" became "Queen Kong," "The Man Who Knew Too Much" became "The Woman Who Knew Too Much," and "The Passion of Joan of Arc" became -- you guessed it -- "The Passion of John of Arc." Sometimes a touch of drag was introduced. In the poster for "All the President's Women," Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman wear lipstick.
More than a crafty feminist hack, Comani's work causes the eye to pause long enough to allow the brain to rethink the ways that men and women have been portrayed in film. After all, if Richard Gere were a "Pretty Man" and Cary Grant were "Her Boy Friday," there likely would be many "Men on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown."
Comani's short run at the Charlie James Gallery in L.A. has closed, but more of the artist's work can be seen at danielacomani.net.
jessica.gelt@latimes.com
