Ana vs Andy

Ana Mendieta




Andy Warhol and Ana Mendieta are two very eccentric artists in the study of modern art. Both artists have challenged world views on art and made people ask the question “what is art?” Both of these artists take the line between socially acceptable and highly absurd, and completely blur the edges by taking things we already know to be one way and completely changing it. Both of these artists however, continue to be very influential artists today, shaping the way new artists impact the world with their own work.







Mendieta - one with the earth









Mendieta was a Cuban American artist who had a very troubling childhood. At the early age of 11 years old Mendieta and her sister were uprooted from their homes and constantly move around to other foster homes. While she was constantly moving, she endured many other traumas until she was reunited with her family several years in 1966. All her traumas and life experiences had made her into a violent, raw, and unapologetic artists afterwards. As writer Joanna Finkelstein said “these [forms of expression] are deeply embedded systems of cultural knowledge that organize how we act towards others and ourselves.” (p 96) For Mendieta, Her art connected heavily to violence, nature and nakedness, and feminism as a form of self expression. For many of her pieces of work, she discovered that the best way to express her emotion was through her own nakedness in connection with nature. Many times she would place herself directly into the earth in order to portray her and mother nature as one. As Finkelstein said the “ power to be and not to be, to detach oneself from oneself, to be oneself and at the same time another,” (p 61) In other words, Mendieta was portraying what it was like to be one with herself, the earth, and the world as a whole. This could be due to the fact that she was torn from her roots as a child, or her longing to feel apart of something that she could never feel as a child. According to 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” (p 46). For Mendieta, this means challenging gender roles, and going outside of what was at the time, considered normal.













Andy Warhol













Warhol also endured an extremely assiduous upbringing. Warhol was the child of working class emigrants who had four children together in Pittsburgh, PA. in the third grade Warhol became ill with Sydenham’s Chorea, a nervous system disease that causes involuntary throughout his body, accompanied with rash like or blotchy skin. Because of these hardships his parents thought it would best to homeschool him. Being homeschooled by his mother, who was also immersed in the world of art herself, opened up Warhol’s mind to a world of innovation. Essentially, taking things that were average, and making them way better. One of the many ways Warhol did this was through the Pop Art movement, which he became known as “The Godfather” of. One of his most famous pieces of art was known as “Shot Marilyns.” Warhol's intentions were to depict different icons at the time that would explore the relationships between society, fashion, fame, and sensationalism. He constantly referred to a society in which individuals were seen more as products rather than people and thought that, “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)








Marilyns







Both artists used Video and photography in their work in the hopes of getting their messages across in more ways than just one. Andy Warhol’s art included bright colors no matter what the medium. He often included paint and silk screen, photo and video, as well as simple pencil and paper. He used silk screening to depict the materialistic and glamorized subjects such as his famous Shot Marilyns and “Campbell's Soup Cans”. The materials he chose were important because it allowed him to create repetition and create an idealized and over popularized Hollywood that can be seen as a critique of our current materialistic society. The materials that both Ana Mendieta and Andy Warhol used contributed to the success of the artwork as well as effectively portraying their themes that surround their work. While Mendieta cared more to show the process of her work and the meaning of details unapologetically effecting the masses. As Berger says "Etiquettes of modesty are not merely puritan or sentimental: it is reasonable to recognize a loss of mystery." (p. 59) Warhol was more about his finishing message and how greatly it affected the world.






WORKS CITED


Berger, John. Ways of Seeing; a Book Made by John Berger. New York, Viking Press, 1973.


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



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