Project 1: Process
ARTIST RESEARCH

Ana Mendieta

Ana Mendieta’s work revolved around human experiences of identity, her own body or her minimal female silhouette or ‘silueta’ being outlined, buried, covered in flowers, covered in blood, being made from live coals or lit gunpowder in the night. (GOPNIK) She worked with performance and installation, often using natural environments and her body to portray her relationship to the Earth and the inherent belonging to nature of human beings. “In Mendieta's work, art becomes the sheer, absurd impulse to impose your presence -- which can include a female presence -- on the world.” (GOPNIK)

While speaking about her silueta works and Rupestrian sculptures in Cuba, Mendieta stated, “for the past twelve years I have been working out in nature, exploring the relationship between myself, the earth and art. I have thrown myself into the very elements that produced me, using the earth as my canvas and my soul as my tools.” (“Ana Mendieta-”, 2003) She built a bridge between performance and earthworks by integrating herself and human icons with the landscape, as she became the new growth in the ground in Imagen de Yagul. (VISO) The time-based firework piece of Anima, “breathe” in Spanish, and in English, “soul”, is no longer Mendieta’s identity, but an impression of the past, and the lasting symbolism of the human form.

Untitled (Rape Scene), 1973, was inspired by the rape and murder of a female student by another student on the University of Iowa campus, where Mendieta studied. Mendieta bent over a table, naked, with blood smeared on her body and surrounded by broken dishes, and was viewed by an audience. (TROAKES) For the duration of the performance, she took on the identity of a victim of violence, and her audience took on the action of identifying the horror of the situation and their reactions to seeing a graphic performance.

Gopnik, B. (2004, October 17). 'silueta' of a woman: Sizing up ana mendieta. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35164-2004Oct15.html

[Web log message]. (2003, July 30). Retrieved from http://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A1105453

Viso, Olga. "Ana Mendieta." Ana Mendieta, Earth Body Sculpture and Performance, 1972-1985. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution. Washington D.C.. 14 Oct 2004. Reading.

Troakes, Bethan. "ana mendieta: untitled (rape scene)."The Pandorian. N.p., 03 Nov 2009. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. <http://thepandorian.com/2009/11/ana-mendieta-untitled-rape-scene/>.