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| Ana Mendieta’s photographs combine elements of earth art, body art, performance, multiculturalism, and feminism. They document private sculptural performances enacted in the landscape to represent the spirit of renewal inspired by nature, and the power of the feminine. In her Silueta
(Silhouette) series (begun in 1974), created on location in Iowa and Mexico, Mendieta carved and shaped her own figure into the earth to leave traces of her body fashioned from flowers, tree branches, mud, gunpowder, and fire. In this set of images from the series, one witnesses the deliberate destruction of Mendieta’s form as the waves slowly dissolve the carved outline into the beach, melding figure and landscape into a seamless whole.
The Silueta series builds upon the artist’s experience as both a feminist and as a displaced Cuban. Born in Havana, but forced to flee Cuba as a twelve-year-old refugee, Mendieta’s feelings of being uprooted influenced her work; she felt that her interactions with nature and the landscape would help her transition between her homeland and her new country. By fusing her interests in Afro-Cuban ritual and the pantheistic Santería religion with contemporary aesthetic practices, such as earthworks and performance art, she maintained ties with her Cuban heritage.  (For Grades 4-6) What materials did the artist use to create the sculpture in this photograph? Who is the figure in the sculpture? Do you think this is a self-portrait by the artist or someone else close to her? What do you think will happen to this sculpture over time? What role does nature play in this series? How might the sculpture change if it were reenacted in a different part of the world? Do you consider this sculpture a piece of art? Why or why not? |
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Ana Mendieta |
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