I noticed that I, like Giovanni, consistently used a blonde figure and brunette figure personas "coupled" together within my compositions. Seeing them as one persona that has been split, or disharmony, I saw this phenomenon in my artwork as a deeply personal mythology.

Variations similar to Giovanni Mannozzi’s allegorical representations of female doubles, or paired, complementary female opposites, can be found in popular fashion editorials, too. If one were to take Mannozzi’s Dusk and Dawn personifi- cations, separate the figures physically and juxtapose them within a scene that descriptively depicts unrest, one could correctly interpret the splitting and juxtaposition of the figures to be a metaphor for discord within the universe.

The metaphor I just described appears frequently in contemporary fashion editorials. The bad girl (Vice) in contest with the good girl (Virtue) is cast in a homoerotic context. Within these fashion editorials, the two models are “twinned” they have similar facial structures that imply “identical” in identity. This is contrasted they are made “fraternal,” separated by distinctive characteristics, such as variations in hair color or skin tone. I perceive these personas composed in sexual tension and conflict, as symbolic of one identity that has been split. Based on my basic observations, I believe that “persona splitting” is a powerful fashion editorial tactic. The models featured function frequently as iconographic female prototypes. On one level, the symbolic function of the “persona splitting” metaphorically introduces a division within time and space: splitting associative fantasy from linear reality. I believe the “persona splitting” functions on a deeper, highly personal psychological level for the reader.

I believe it works in the following manner: while referencing a realm detached from reality fashion editorials encourage consumers to identify oneself with the featured symbols, models/personas. By the featuring two models that mirror each other with complementary variations, the “persona splitting” editorial psychologically divides the reader’s identification and concept of self. This creates a double vision and the emergence of a visual language based in dichotomy: good/bad, blonde/brunette, light/dark, antagonist/protagonist, etc. The dichotomy divides and halves. This primes the reader’s psychological response conquers by allowing the reader to identify with both to be receptive to products that will enable self-improvement: keep the good but correct the bad with the purchase of the featured products or goods.

Dusk and Dawn with Horses, graphite, and ink on paper, 18" x 24", 2012

Blue Cerberus, ink and acrylic on paper, 42" x 58", 2014