Unseen Mendieta: The Unpublished Works of Ana Mendieta Book

Among the most compelling and iconic images of art in the1970s are the pioneering investigations of performance andexperimental media by Ana Mendieta. An American artist bornin Cuba, she explored in her work her Caribbean roots throughthe lens of exile. She meticulously documented her ephemeralsite-specific artworks, on beaches and in rivers, across floweryfields, and against walls of rock. Here for the first time, OlgaViso, the leading authority on the artist, presents a beautifullycurated representative selection of photographs and drawingsfrom the artist s archive, only a small selection of which hasbeen previously published. The volume traces Mendieta s earlystudies as an art student in Iowa; the genesis of her signatureworks, the archetypal female forms known as siluetas; andpublic art projects, including ones being developed at thetime of her tragic death in 1985. Interspersed throughout arerevealing pages from Mendieta s notebooks: sketches,shopping lists for materials, recipes for gunpowder mixtures,and photographic source materials. Viso s accompanyingessay reveals the artist s experimental approach and rigorousworking methods, provides insights into the forces thatinspired and shaped her work, and shows how the genius ofMendieta s vision has survived its physical manifestations.Read More