Ana Mendieta: traces of colonialism, performance, and feminisms in Latin America

Abstract

Profound changes in artmaking led to a review of art in the 20th century, mostly influenced by the seminal work of the avant-gardes and artists of the 1960s and 1970s, which would eventually lead to an aesthetic that sees art as action, event and, above all, as presence – the performativity paradigm. In parallel, there was the emergence of studies questioning modern logic about the inseparability of the modernity/coloniality pair, a concern that affects artistic production as well and raises questions about history of art as a modern and colonial narrative. This contribution will serve as background for the discussion of the work of Ana Mendieta (1948-1985), a Cuban-born performer exiled in the USA. Through literature review, this paper discusses how her work is crossed and deeply marked by gender issues and issues related to feminisms and, at the same time, also by issues arising from coloniality, that colonized bodies and practices in the Americas. It is also investigated how such issues (of gender and coloniality) may arise and be problematized in the work of Ana Mendieta, especially in her Silueta Series (1973-1980).