Ana Mendieta (1948-1985)

Essay # 56685

Art
Art > Artists
Art > History

An analysis of Ana Mendieta's work based on her connections to her Cuban heritage.

936 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2004 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper presents a biographical history of Ana Mendieta, who was born in Havana, Cuba in 1948. The paper describes how Mendieta came to the United States as part of Operation Peter Pan. The paper contends that Mendieta has been considered a performance artist, a land/earth artist, and even a body artist. The paper describes her Silueta series. In creating the Silueta series, she is performing using the land and her body. Unlike the other land artists of her time, she did not aggressively shape or change the land; she just simply united with what was there.

From the Paper:

"Freud has said that there are two sensations of home, one that signifies home but more over belonging, familiarity, intimacy and an overall sense of comfort. The other is of privacy or of something that is kept from sight. Mendeita's removal from her country had a colossal impact on her work as an artist. She had a deep sense of loss for her home and her culture and this is shown clearly in the Silueta (silhouette) series. In order to maintain a sense of home in the cornfields of the Midwest, Ana immersed herself in her native culture to make an identity for herself, to keep a sense of home and to regain what she lost."