Can you name five women artists?

Well, now you can at least name one!

Hello, my dear spring chickens!

For those in DC, I hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather we’re having. Nothing I love more than basking in the sun like a little turtle on a log.

One of my favorite things about living in DC is our amazing museums, many of which are free! I love to visit the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA), the first museum in the world solely dedicated to championing women through the arts. It’s 90% for the art, 10% for the amazing giftshop… and now they also have a cool photobooth!

In 2016, NMWA started a social media campaign asking if people could name 5 women artists to bring attention to the fact that women are underrepresented in all aspects of the art world. I will now pause to see if YOU can name five women artists! If you can… drop them in the comments!

In honor of that campaign, I thought I would add one artist to your repertoire!

Ana Mendieta

Ana Mendieta dressed in a bright orange/red sweater with her hair slicked back wearing a large, fake mustache.

Ana Mendieta was born in Havana, Cuba in 1948. When she was 12, Ana’s father became a political prisoner and she was sent to live in America through Operation Peter Pan. Ana and her sister were sent to live in Iowa… can you imagine moving from Cuba to Iowa? There’s a Disney Original movie waiting to happen. Being uprooted from her family and her culture at such a young age deeply impacted Ana and influenced her art. She said “Having been torn from my homeland during my adolescence, I am overwhelmed by the feeling of having been cast from the womb. My art is the way I reestablish the bonds that unite me to the Universe.”

Mendieta attended the University of Iowa for college and studied under German artist Hans Breder. Breder inspired Ana’s artistic style of moving across different elements, including using her body and land as a medium for her pieces.

Arbol de la Vida (Tree of Life). A woman stands in front of a large tree trunk covered in mud and grass, making it appear as if she blends in with the tree.

Mendieta’s art was known for being thought-provoking, feminist, and raw. She was known to create art that shocked people. For example, while she was living in New York City, Ana created a short film. The film consisted of Ana pouring pig’s blood on the sidewalk and filming people’s reaction to the bloody sidewalk. The purpose of this film was to show people’s indifference to violence.

Imagen del Yagul. A person laying on top of the rocky ground covered in white flowers with green stems.

After Ana graduated college and graduate school, she moved to New York City and fell in with a group of artists. Most in her friend group were feminist artists who were supportive of Ana and her work. Ana also joined the Artists in Residence (AIR Gallery) in New York, the first gallery established for women in the United States. Although she had issues with American feminism, feminism was integral to Ana’s art and her view of creativity. She began to gain more popularity and prestige in the art world and was awarded a residency at the American Academy of Rome. This allowed her to experiment with different mediums.

Ana married Carl Andre, a fellow artist in the New York City scene. Their relationship was tumultuous, some said he was jealous of her success in comparison to his own. In 1985, Ana tragically died when she allegedly fell out of her 34-story apartment building. While her husband was charged with her murder, he was acquitted of all charges.

I encourage you all to Google Ana Mendieta and admire her amazing artwork. I was only able to post a few of her pieces here. A recent novel “Anita de Monte Laughs Last” by Xochitl Gonzalez is loosely based on Mendieta.

Bits and Bobs

MAJOR beauty news — The amazing and iconic Pat McGrath was named Creative Director of Louis Vuitton’s first makeup line!

Your next vacation spot — Amba Yaalu resort in Sri Lanka is a resort hotel owned, run, and operated by women!

See ya next week!

Citations

https://www.anamendietaartist.com/

https://www.moma.org/artists/3924-ana-mendieta

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/obituaries/ana-mendieta-overlooked.html

https://nmwa.org/blog/5-fast-facts/5-fast-facts-ana-mendieta/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana_Mendieta