Andy Warhol and Ana Mendieta

Andy Warhol and Ana Mendieta are both amazing artists that had very unique techniques that they used in their work to depict their experiences or how they perceived things. Although their work may be different, they do have some similarities. The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe. (Berger, 1972).  They depicted things, people, events based on what they saw and how they perceived it from their point of view. I will talk about the themes that I recognized in both their work separately then conclude with how their work is somehow intertwined.

Andy Warhol’s greatest achievements had the tendency of arising during historical events that were taking place in the United States. His work took place during the time of pop culture thus making inspired him to be a pop artist. In Andy’s work the themes that seemed prevalent to me were; beauty, fame and death. He began as an artist with the goal of wanting to be famous and produced art that he felt would bring him the fame that he desired. “People should fall in love with their eyes shut,” says Andy Warhol. This was the time in his life he felt that he needed to change his appearance so that e could love himself and be accepted by the public.

I feel that further influence him in making repeated images in his art so that people would take time to appreciate the things that people thought that did not have much of importance. What really heightened his career was the art he did or Marilyn Monroe and capturing moments of former President Kennedy’s wife during the burial ceremony. Marilyn Monroe was loved by all and her beauty was remarkable, and he was able to express that in his famous painting of her. His art was connected emotions and feelings of what he felt the majority of people would feel at the times he did them. It’s like he felt a strong connection to people and things around him which really influenced his work.

Ana Mendieta’s  work was more around the themes of domestic violence and nature. Film provides the distinct pleasure of seeing one’s self, in the glamorized portraits of the screen star according to Finkelstein. Ana’s films allows us to experience and feel all the emotions and actions that took place in the art. She used herself as art by recreating scenes of domestic violence and things that she saw happen. Iowa rape rates were high and her work brought awareness by allowing people to see how horrific the events were. She saw her sister be abused by her drunk husband which I feel led her to begin that path. Being an immigrant from Cuba, which is an island full of beautiful sites, she expressed her love for nature by wanting to become one with earth, of which she was able to portray in her work as well. The earth somehow was able to connect her to her home. “My art is the way I reestablish the bonds that tie me to the universe,” says Ana Mendieta. She used the earth as her canvas which is a technique which differs from the other artists at the time. Although she was trying to become famous, she wanted her fame to help end the domestic violence that women encountered and also show the beauty of nature.

Andy Warhol and Ana Mendieta are both synonymous in that they were fascinated with death and beauty. Their biographies are what make their work more special because we get to understand the reason as to what the inspiration of their art was. It gives us a deeper understanding as to what they were thinking and experiencing at the time which makes their work very valuable and more understandable. Without the biographies we would think the art is of no value and even unappealing to the human eye. The biographies give us a story behind the art that we are able to see and comprehend. Andy used objects and people around him as his subject because this was an era where materialism and fame was prevalent and that was what people were after.

However, Ana was the subject of her art because she was telling her story and experiences which made her who she was. These artists invented their public selves through the presentation of their work rather than themselves. Andy created art that went with the current events that were taking place, that would help become famous, while Ana invented scenes and ideas that would be helpful in helping other understand how she saw things and felt. According to Finkelstein, objects are invested with identity to make them interesting. The objects used in both artists’ work helped convey their message across through the universal understanding we relate to them. They both brought light to dark situations through their art.

References

Andy Warhol Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.theartstory.org/artist-warhol-andy.htm

Finkelstein, J. (2007). The art of self invention: Image and identity in popular visual culture. London: I.B. Tauris.

John Berger / Ways of Seeing , Episode 1 (1972). (2012, October 8). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pDE4VX_9Kk

Witching Hour Festival 2016: Researching Ana Mendieta. (2016, December 17). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtUQhue1tn0