Ana Mendeita ***

                **Ana Mendieta**

During the time Ana Mendieta was born in the 1940's various art movements had begun to rise and others began to fall. The art world began to move from Impressionism and its followers such as Cassat, Marisot and Gonzales to a more lively style of art such as cubism and fauvism.  Therefore, instead of painting landscapes and portraits  artists began to paint more abstract pictures which would then lead into modern times and Modernism. Many if not almost all of the females artists of the 20th century were painting and creating art that symbolized what was occurring in that time period.  Ana Mendieta was creating art during the Women's Movement here in the United States and therefore, a lot of her work involves issues related to and about women. Another huge theme in Mendieta's work is the earth and spirituality.  The earth symbolizing both how we as human beings connect and are apart mother nature and planet earth.  The spirituality in her work reflects and highlights her belief in Santeria which derives from her home country Cuba (The Guardian,1).  

Untitled Rape Scene by Ana Mendieta, 1973

Silhueta Series by Ana Mendieta, 1977

Ana Mendieta used herself in all of her art pieces and in the one to the left  she is advocating for the murder and rape of a young Iowa University student by laying on a table naked and with blood smeared over her.  This piece highlights the violence committed against women and sheds light onto what occurred to the victim of Iowa University. According to Chadwick, Mendieta's work made "powerful identifications between the female body and the land in ways that annihilated the conventions of surface on which the traditions of Western Art rest (Chadwick, 233).  When she placed her body into the earth or natural element she became one with it.  Therefore, she is implying that women and mother nature are one.  When she created her imprints on the earth she used tools such as stones, ignited gun powder, fireworks and flowers (Chadwick, 233).

Silhueta Series by Ana Mendieta, 1977

Mendieta's work entails a lot of blood which was a symbol derived from the women's movement (The Guardian, 1). This was the time period when women were reclaiming blood as feminine (The Guardian, 1).  She also made various of her earthy imprints in Mexico and it is said that she felt inspired by the Mexican artists who also created much of the artwork from earthy elements. Since she was in exile from Cuba due to the political turmoil of the time,  much of her artwork not only embraces women but it also embraces a sense of home,warmth and belonging.  This may be because Ana was in exile and could not return to Cuba.
What is most inspiring and astonishing is that her work was very deep and gave insight to events such as rape and sexual violence that continue to occur today. Furthermore, many of these acts against women that Ana Mendieta raised awareness about were only spoken about by feminists of her time and women who steered away from gender roles and expectations. 

Ana Mendieta drew inspiration from other feminists and artists such as Nancy Spero and Frida Kahlo.  For one of Mary Beth Edleson's fancy dress parties, Mendieta went dressed as Frida Kahlo.  This of course spoke volumes about her personality.  Not only was she a feminist and had a strong personality but she painted what she felt inside like many other leading female artist around her time. 

                          Bibliography
1. The Guardian. "Ana Mendieta:death of an Artist Foretold in Blood." The Guardian. The Observer, 21 Sept. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
 2.Chadwick Text Book