Ana Mendieta & Andy Warhol

Jan Castaneda

03.21.2018

Self: I As Image

Professor D. Cacoilo

Ana Mendieta & Andy Warhol

               Ana Mendieta and Andy Warhol were great artists from the 50’s and 60’s, each bringing innovation to their respective work. Mendieta was considered an important contributor to “Land Art,” which required the use of landscape and the possibility of displaying art outside of the gallery.[1] In addition, her work encompassed the “full range of avant-garde 1970’s movements—conceptual, performance, earthwork, feminist, and identity art.”[2] On the other hand, Warhol bridged the contrasts of Pop Art and Fine Arts, his paintings from the 60’s were “influential in the expansion of Pop Art into high art and popular culture.”[3]  Due to Warhol’s talents and contributions to the pop culture movement, he ultimately minted the term “superstar,” which is defined as “fabulous, beautiful, or outrageous.”[4]

               Both artists’ works depicted prevalent movements at the time, Warhol’s art represented the pop culture whereas Mendieta’s represented the feminist movement. Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans were meant to emphasize and idealize mass production. Warhol was also inspired to create the soup can paintings after someone had told him to create a project that depicted an object that everyone is accustomed to.[5] An additional work he created were dollar bills, and when questioned about its purpose, he replied “A teacher once told me to paint what I like.”[6] Mendieta, however, wanted to depict more harrowing topics such as rape, and in 1973, she staged a reenactment of the brutal rape and murder of fellow student Sarah Ann Ottens. She invited her class to her apartment and left the door cracked open, so they could walk in and discover her “tableau vivant of a corpse.”[7]

               Andy Warhol and Ana Mendieta wanted to present their audiences with a different perspective of the world with their works. For example, Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup was created with the intent to emphasize mass production and depict an item that numerous people would be able to identify due to its popularity. However, although the project may be deemed trivial, it was Warhol’s intention to idealize the idea of a seemingly mundane object. In similarity, Mendieta made it her objective to express the gravity of rape and other forms of sexual harassment. She aimed to “trigger” those who viewed her work to give them a perspective of the dark and haunting experience of potential victims.

---

[1] "Ana Mendieta Artist Overview and Analysis". [Internet]. 2018. TheArtStory.org
Content compiled and written by Alicia Lopez
Edited and revised, with Synopsis and Key Ideas added by Kimberly Nichols
[Accessed 21 Mar 2018]

[2] Roulet, Laura. "Ana Mendieta as Cultural Connector with Cuba." American Art 26, no. 2 (Summer2012 2012): 21-27. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost [accessed March 21, 2018].

[3] "Andy Warhol Artist Overview and Analysis". [Internet]. 2018. TheArtStory.org
Content compiled and written by The Art Story Contributors
Edited and published by The Art Story Contributors
[Accessed 21 Mar 2018]

[4] King, Kenneth. "On the Cusp of Superstars: Andy Warhol's Silver Factory as Underground." PAJ: A Journal Of Performance & Art 39, no. 2 (May 2017): 22-39. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost [accessed March 21, 2018].

[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQXpqQO4vaE

[6] Potter, Polyxeni. "The Unbearable Lightness of Being." Emerging Infectious Diseases 16, no. 6 (June 2010): 1052-1053. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost [accessed March 21, 2018].

[7] FATEMAN, JOHANNA. "FULLY LOADED." Artforum International(January 2018): 176-183. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost [accessed March 21, 2018].