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Ana Mendieta (1948-1985)

Images from the Silueta series

About the Artist

Ana was a Cuban-American artist best known for her performance art which was concentrated on themes of life versus death, self-image, and femininity.

Her Silueta series is comprised of more than 100 films and photographs, each exploring the connections between, body, spirit, culture, religion, and nature.

One of the most poignant pieces of Silueta is Anima, "Silueta de Cohetes." In this work, Ana collaborated with a firework producer to create a silhouette in fireworks of her body, which she later lit and filmed as it burned out. Notably, the last part of the piece to burn out is the shape of her heart, which points to the idea of the soul outlasting and burning longer than the body.

Ana sadly passed in 1985 when she was tragically thrown from her 33rd-story window in New York City. Her passion and creativity are now preserved in her work, which, like the soul of her silueta, will continue to burn brighter and longer than her material body.

More about Ana:

Ana Mendieta au Jeu de Paume (an exhibition of her work described by a curator)

Ana Mendieta - A Brief History of Female Artists (a brief history of Ana's life and work)

Raquel Cecilia Mendieta: The Films of Ana Mendieta (a longer lecture on her work)

Anima, Silueta de Cohetes (1976)