Andy Warhol and Ana Mendieta

Andy Warhol and Ana Mendieta are two completely different artists, but they have one thing in common: their work influences people. Warhol and Mendieta are influential artists in their own right. Both artists established themselves through their hard work. Due to this, Warhol and Mendieta are considered icons in the art community. Their style of work is very relevant in today’s society, not just in the art community but in everyday life as well. 

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol is known as the “god father” of the art pop movement. Warhol had humble beginnings; he grew up in poverty and that did not stop him.  He spent his childhood drawing and creating art pieces. When he turned eighteen, he moved to New York and worked for a graphic design company. At the time, his style of design was fun and fresh. His style was considered different and unique. According to the article, Andy Warhol and His Artistic Influence by Emily Brown States, “His aesthetic was a unique convergence of fine art mediums such as photography and drawing with highly commercialized components revolving around household brand and celebrity names.” Warhol dabbled in various forms of art; videography, photography, and prints. Warhol had an obsession with pop culture, he incorporated pop culture references. Some of his most famous art pieces were “Campbell’s Soup Cans” and “Shot Marilyns.”

Shot Marilyns

Campbell’s Soup Cans

According to the book, The Art of Self Invention; Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture by Joanne Finkelstein states, “Such a character values the idea of a ‘core self’ that emanates our ethical best but also understands the necessity of the opposite, namely, being able to invent an identity to suit the fluid character of cosmopolitan life” (Finkelstein. 10). In other words, the author argues the creation of an identity. This relates to Warhol due to how Marilyn Monroe became a pop culture icon. This is due to the many portraits that were created based off of her image. The actress is more known for her image than the actual person that she is. Warhol created a brand-new identity for her.

Ana Mendieta

Ana Mendieta first came to this country as an immigrant, she immigrated to this country from Cuba. Similar to Warhol, Mendieta had humble beginnings; growing up in foster care and living in country not knowing the language or the culture. Mendieta found art as a scapegoat. According to the article, Ana Mendieta: Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance by Megan Heuer states, “Ana Mendieta has become something of an art world myth. Born in Cuba in 1948, but exiled to the United States as a child, she is the beautiful young multicultural woman artist working with ideas and forms of gender and culture in the heyday of feminist art and identity politics.” Ana Mendieta is a feminist and very political, she incorporates that in her work. Mendieta’s work consists of performance art and videography. An example of her work “Untitled (Rape Scene)”; consists of a reenactment of a rape that happened in her campus. The purpose of this was to create a statement towards injustice towards women. In domestic violence, the victims never see a way out of situations. In this case, women are not justified.

Silueta Series

Untitled (Rape Scence)

According to the book, Ways of Seeing by John Berger, “a woman’s presence expresses her own attitude to herself and defines what can and cannot be done to her. Her presence is manifest in her gestures, voice, opinions, expressions, clothes, chosen surroundings, taste - indeed~ there is nothing she can do which does not contribute to her presence” (Berger, 46). In other words, women have to work harder than men, the reason for that is due to gender. Mendieta challenges gender roles, her goal is for women rights to be as equal to a male. Due to her persistence her work was recognized and was given a grant to attend a prestigious program in Rome, Italy to study art and create a project.

      Andy Warhol and Ana Mendieta are well established artists. They both excel in their own different ways. Andy Warhol was more focused on the final product of his pieces while Ana Mendieta focused more on the process and meaning of her pieces. According to Berger, “The Claim of the theme is made empty by the way the subject is painted. The paint cannot free itself of its original propensity to procure the tangible for the immediate pleasure of the owner.” For Andy Warhol, when “Campbell’s Soup Cans” was released to the public many believed that his idea of was how in society at the time was obsessed with consumption. In reality he wanted to make the prints just to make them. Ana Mendieta, on the other hand, is more involved in the meaning and symbolism behind her pieces. An example, “Silueta series”; the meaning behind these pieces she made a figure on the ground representing women in domestic relationships symbolizing how they are too deep in a whole for them to get out of. She would set them on fire and document them. The flame represents how a person is slowly dying. 

      

                In conclusion, Andy Warhol and Ana Mendieta are influential artists in their own right. Both artists established themselves through their hard work. Andy Warhol helped and turned the Pop Art movement into what it is today. Warhol established many trends in prints and photography. His style is incorporated in everyday life.  For example, Snapchat filters are a prime example of modern day Pop Art. Ana Mendieta, influenced the feminist movement. Mendieta’s fight for feminism resonated with people. Even after her tragic death it sparked a series of discussions.  Her topic of rape and domestic violence is still relevant today, such as the #MeToo movement. Overall, both artists play a role, not just in the art community, but also in society.

Works Cited

Berger, John. Ways of Seeing; a Book Made by John Berger. British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books, 1972.

 Finkelstein, Joanne. The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture. I.B. Tauris, 2007.

Brown, Emily. Andy Warhol and His Artistic Influence. Cultural Trip, 2018. https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/articles/andy-warhol-and-his-artistic-influence/

Heuer, Megan. Ana Mendieta: Earth Body, Sculpture and Performance. The Brooklyn Rail Critical Perspectives on Arts, Politics, and Culture, 2004.
 https://brooklynrail.org/2004/09/art/ana-mendieta-earth-body-sculpture-and-pe