Ana Mendieta

Born Havana, Cuba, 1948.  Died New York City, NY, 1985

Silueta Works, Mexico, 1973-77
Color photograph documenting works from the Earth/Body series
Portfolio published in 1992
20 x 13 ¼ inches
Collection Miami Art Museum, gift of Jerry M. Lindzon

Credit line: © The Estate of Ana Mendieta
Photo credit: Nancy Robinson Watson

Ana Mendieta combined feminist ideals with autobiographical material to create an intensely personal contribution to the experimental art of her day. The image of an archetypal female silhouette subtly imbedded into natural forms is the central motif of her work. For Mendieta, a symbolic connection with nature was associated with the resolution of personal trauma and social alienation.

In the 1970s, Mendieta traveled repeatedly to Oaxaca, Mexico.  There she found inspiration in the art and architecture of Mexico's pre-Hispanic past and its views of life and death.  She went out into the landscape - often to ancient sites - and produced what she called "earth-body sculptures".  Using earth, water, fire, flowers, and sand she created ephemeral works that paradoxically suggest both the presence and absence of her body and spirit.