Ana Mendieta

                “Earth-body sculptures” of the late Ana Mendieta, an avant-garde artist who recalled her Cuban roots through visual references. I honestly think these are powerful. and clever. Her haunting art melds the 1970’s concepts of earth art and body art with her ethnic heritage. Created in Iowa and Mexico, the “Silueta” sculptures themselves are transitory. These sculptures are done with such materials as earth, flowers, leaves, fire or blood, so the documenting photographs are considered Mendieta’s art. She is considered a pioneer in environmental and performance art.

                 One beach sculpture consists of red bouganvillea blossoms in the shape of the artist’s body with arms raised. This piece in particular caught my attention more than any other pieces. There's something about this piece that is extremely haunting and I can't get my eyes of it. I finally found out that this piece symbolizes Chango, a principal orisha, always is represented by the color red. His mistress is Yemayá, orisha of the ocean, whose frothy waves represent her lacy petticoats. Mendieta’s art shows Yemayá’s petticoats covering the legs of Chango, whose arms are raised in surprise or delight. Like the ocean, Yemayá represents both a loving and wrathful mother; they say you can take shelter from your enemies under her skirts, but if you provoke her anger, there is nowhere you can hide.