In this series, “Hollywood Icons,” Maffia explores some of the main cultural influences in his life. “I watched a lot of films from the 1930’s and ’40’s, and these paintings are personal to me. Maffia focused on some of the most tragic and glamorous stories which emerged from this era. Explorations of icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Jean Harlow and James Dean illustrate Maffia’s fascination with actors who met tragedy at a young age. “They weren’t just entertainment for me,” he says. “They altered my thinking and my relationship to reality. They taught us all about romance, and how to kiss and they taught us how to die young”In a painting of a legendary tragic figure, Maffia depicts Marilyn Monroe in the dress she wore in “The Misfits.” A quote in French runs underneath her image, which when roughly translated reads,
“A destiny that reached increasing heights and fell as a star should, under a black sky of Hollywood.”