Ana Mendieta

Pain of Cuba body I am my orphan hood I live. In Cuba when you die the earth that covers us speaks. But here, covered by the earth whose prisoner I am I feel death palpitating underneath the earth. And, so, as my whole being is filled with the want of Cuba I go on to make my mark upon the earth, to go on is victory. --Ana Mendieta, June 1, 1981 1

Ana Mendieta a Cuban American female artist, whose work was continuing to search for her identity throughout her whole entire life. She has often searched for her roots in the earth itself, using it to direct her in art, and with her own body. The phrase “return to the earth” was a metaphor for Mendieta life. Mendieta refers Earth as a sense of home security, literally, and figuratively, as
She found her strength in woman hood through the earth. Women’s union with the earth which brought Ana in touch with the goddess spirit, giving her back her body, and gave her a sense of personal power. All of these reasons such as cultural, religious, and feminist made the earth so important to Mendieta. Ana Mendieta has been seen in many lights, making her work the subject of numerous theories in art criticism. Ana Mendieta is best-known for her early art pieces. She used her body to create an extensive corpus of work. Ana uses her body as a center focus for Woman who’s dealt with violence, and in this case I would even say domestic
Mendieta’s naked body is laying on some rocks that captures her. Her body is covered with small white flowers, green leaves, and more enormous rocks surrounding her body. The Small white Flowers, and leaves are cover around her chest, and her face making it difficult to differentiate her facial expressions surrounded by the cluster of flowers. Mendieta leaves us the viewer only the outer reliefs of her body which is her arms, and legs to distinguish. The image Imagen de Yagul, is the first silhouette portraits which Mendieta traces the outline of her body. When you view the portrait you get a sense of darkness especially seeing a naked body in the forest cover white wild pure white flower. Secondly, looking at dark primary colors such black, grey, white, light and dark green, a little hint of orange on the flowers. Give you like a dull sad gloomy day. Imagen de Yagul is dealing with the theme of death, and the rebirth. Mendieta uses her body to address issue of life, and death. Mendieta believe the female body is represented in harmony with nature as the creator. She use her body to show the flowers sprout, and flourish on her body, which could symbolism that she could be interpreted as a sign of fertility. In Addition to Mendieta positioning her body inside of a Meso American tomb that is located in Yagul, which is not too far from the ancient