Ana Mendieta: Back to the Source

Using the earth as a sculptural medium, Mendieta conveyed notions of existence, resurgence and renewal through site-inclusive works that were exquisitely ethereal and transitory The Cuban American artist Ana Mendieta (1948–85) was a pioneer and innovator whose singular artistic interventions in the landscape embraced nature and defied societal conventions. With her body as material, and driven by nature’s symbolic meaning, she sought to integrate power, magic and knowledge into her work, using natural materials as well as the four elements. Feathers, flowers, branches, moss, fireworks and gunpowder were often part of ritual practices to return her to the land and connect her to the universal. Her body of work testifies to a passionate engagement with themes of exile and displacement, reconnecting with the earth, and the search for belonging and origin. Creating a rich and diverse body of work that included ephemeral sculptures, Mendieta, in her film and photographic works, captures time and process through direct actions which transport her beyond conventional materials to the realm of the intangible and impermanent, using nature as a collaborator. Published to accompany Mendieta’s inaugural exhibition at Marian Goodman Gallery, this volume presents seminal works from 1972 to 1985, a prolific period of Mendieta’s work, spanning stages of time spent in Iowa, Mexico and Cuba, including 10 digitally remastered films, photographic works, newly available prints and drawings and ephemeral sculpture.

Using the earth as a sculptural medium, Mendieta conveyed notions of existence, resurgence and renewal through site-inclusive works that were exquisitely ethereal and transitory The Cuban American artist Ana Mendieta (1948–85) was a pioneer and innovator whose singular artistic interventions in the landscape embraced nature and defied societal conventions. With her body as material, and driven by nature’s symbolic meaning, she sought to integrate power, magic and knowledge into her work, using natural materials as well as the four elements. Feathers, flowers, branches, moss, fireworks and gunpowder were often part of ritual practices to return her to the land and connect her to the universal. Her body of work testifies to a passionate engagement with themes of exile and displacement, reconnecting with the earth, and the search for belonging and origin. Creating a rich and diverse body of work that included ephemeral sculptures, Mendieta, in her film and photographic works, captures time and process through direct actions which transport her beyond conventional materials to the realm of the intangible and impermanent, using nature as a collaborator. Published to accompany Mendieta’s inaugural exhibition at Marian Goodman Gallery, this volume presents seminal works from 1972 to 1985, a prolific period of Mendieta’s work, spanning stages of time spent in Iowa, Mexico and Cuba, including 10 digitally remastered films, photographic works, newly available prints and drawings and ephemeral sculpture.