Ana Mendieta

I want to do my presentation on Ana Mendieta and her work because I was absolutely floored when I first stumbled upon her Siluetas series online. I've also seen a few other pieces of her work, specifically her performance art pieces, such as her Untitled Self Portrait with Blood and Untitled (Glass on Face) series. I've always wanted to learn more about her work and her personal life so I want to take this opportunity to do so.

I thoroughly enjoyed the reading Out of the House, the Halo, and the Whore's Mask which explored the CARA exhibit and its relation to the representation of Chicana artists. While the exhibit itself seemed to garner lots of praise for creating a space which highlighted the works of Chicano/a/x artists, this article looked critically at the actual composition of the exhibit itself and the artists it placed in the spotlight. Despite the attempts at equity, the CARA exhibit still seemed to perpetuate the same tropes they assigned to women in the movement (the virgin, the mother, the revolutionary, the whore) instead of using the space to highlight the issues that were most important to Chicana artists. It's interesting to see how the tension in the intersection of existing in the world as a Chicana and as a woman manifested in the portrayal of Chicana art in this exhibition. A question I have for Professor Alicia Gaspar de Alba, how would you imagine this exhibit being different if it would have been put on by Chicana artists? In which ways would it be similar?