Essay Warhol+Mendieta

The Two Artists 

By:Leslie Wilson    

“Self Portrait in Drag”

      The most influential pop printmaker of the visual art movement, Andy Warhol, and Ana Mendieta, a groundbreaking Cuban American sculptor in the land art movement, are two artists who break the social norms of their times. Although, both creators dictate their art to different, specific styles, for example Warhol’s use of pop culture verses Mendieta’s more natural approach, there are more than enough similarities that tie the experts together. Their love to explore challenging sociological aspects present during their life is evident of the attention their artwork receives. 

“Untitled (Facial Hair Transplant, mustache)”

     Every line, shape, and color is chosen with an utmost importance to the overall meaning of the piece itself; therefore everything done on a canvas or picture was meant to be there. On the surface, Warhol may have silkscreened different flavors of canned soup, and Mendieta might have casually placed a mustache on her face; but these small details were not mistakes. The act was done with purpose. Both Mendieta and Warhol used gender manipulation, and the power of feminine themes throughout their artwork. Gender manipulation is seen in Warhol’s “Self portrait in Drag” and Mendieta’s “Untitled (Facial Hair Transplants)”; by switching their physical appearance they are proposing the idea that certain looks are not exclusive to woman or man (also known as non-binary). The second common theme shown in their art is called the power of femininity. Warhol silkscreened fabulous portraits of popular figures in his time that released an aroma of glamour, repressed sexuality, and flawed beauty. He uses several different iconic figures on his colorful canvases such as, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. To Mendieta, the power of femininity lies in the raw, natural state of the earth itself, such as in her piece “Alma/Soul”. 

External environment impacts every human in their own way, therefore Warhol, and Mendieta are no exception. Growing up in a two-room apartment in a working class neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Warhol has experienced a difficult life from the beginning. Warhol was diagnosed with Sydenhan Chorea, a neurological disorder causing rheumatic fever, and involuntary movements of body parts, such as arms and legs. In result, Warhol was kept in the house where comics and Hollywood magazines would help fixate his passion for art. In Mendieta’s case, she moved to the Midwest away from her mother, and home in Cuba during her adolescent years. Her identity felt misplaced since she was far away from the area where her heart, and family reside. The disconnection between America and Cuba inspired her to make art where earth is intertwined with humans. 

Despite being born in different decades, Warhol and Mendieta adhere closely to their era, which also inspires their art. In the early 1960s, America converted into a self-obsess, yet incredibly creative, country where a woman’s physical appeal overtook her inner values. It was, also, a time where pop culture was emerging to an extraordinary level. In other words, “ Popular culture has influenced how we think and feel, what we see and desire” (Finkelstein 93). Warhol decided to challenge, and admire pop culture, by constructing marvelous prints of popular iconic women in his time, for example “Jackie”. Warhol believed in the idea of “[w]e are accused of being obsessed by property. The truth is the other way round. It is the society and culture in question which is so obsessed” (Berger 102). While Warhol was designing prints, Mendieta converted earth elements into art to signal the fight for Women’s Rights. The second wave of feminism was at its peak between the 1960s and 1970s. A prime example is seen in American television shows around the same time which aired, for the first time, female lead roles including “That Girl” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. Mendieta responded to the movement by releasing “Untitled (Glass on Body Imprints)” which showed Mendieta’s body in a different, dysmorphic way. Portraying her body in a disfigured manner, Mendieta is challenging the ideal that a woman’s body should be seen sexually. She understood that “[the] body is the first visible sign we use to make judgements of one another. Its size and shape, smell and feel, are instructive” (Finkelstein pg. 96).
     Along with Warhol and Mendieta’s link to their time, their life resembles the artwork released. Without knowing, Mendieta would fall out of her apartment building hitting the ground covered in blood. Her tragic death is related to her piece called “Untitled (People Looking at Blood, Moffitt)”, where two individuals are walking and staring towards a puddle of blood on the ground. While, Warhol, who based most of his artwork on popular culture, would become familiar with fame. Warhol created prints of well known figures, becoming one himself during his life. 

  The materials each artists used to created their masterpieces has an everlasting effect on the art itself. Natural resources, such as blood, feather, and dirt was the key items used to build Mendieta’s images. The materials were also a part of the art, more specifically, in Mendieta’s case it was blood. Blood can be the symbol of violence, fertility, and, arguably, love. To Mendieta, “[a]spects of nature were objects of scientific study, but nature-as-a-whole deified possession” (Berger 98). Before the fancy printer came in to give Americans an easy way of life, silkscreening dominated the print industry in the 1960s. Conveniently for Warhol, he was already experienced with this method; therefore he decided to incorporate it into his work. Using silkscreen, Warhol competed with the idea of how art can be composed of anything; even the most common, basic technique is art. Warhol’s use of printing celebrities faces onto a silkscreen, and Mendieta’s procedure of including blood or mud on her body reveals how both artists can depict art in any form. Who’s to say art is restricted to pricey paint brushes, and gold leaves?

From silkscreening Elizabeth Taylor, to creating Sileutas on earth’s surface, both Warhol and Mendieta’s art will continue to be admired, and respected in the upcoming generations. Ana Mendieta and Andy Warhol both sought to change one attribute in their artwork: the world.

“Untitled (Self Portrait with Blood)”

“Elizabeth Taylor”

A picture of Andy Warhol

“Alma/Soul”

“Untitled (People Looking at Blood, Moffitt)”

Works Cited: 

Berger, John. “5.” Ways Of Seeing.Great Britain, Penguin Books, 1972. 98-102

Finkelstein, Joanne. “Chapter Two.” The Art of Self Invention: Image and Identity in Popular Visual Culture New York, New      
      York, I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 2007. 93-96

Saltz, Jerry. “Elizabeth Taylor:” Jerry Saltz on Andy Warhol’s Portraits of Liz Taylor - Artnet Magazine, 24 Mar. 2011,  
       www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/saltz/andy-warhols-portraits-of-liz3-24-11.asp.

“Ana Mendieta Overview and Analysis.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-mendieta-ana.htm.

“Andy Warhol Most Important Art | TheArtStory.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-warhol-andy-artworks.htm.

“Andy Warhol's Life.” The Andy Warhol Museum, www.warhol.org/andy-warhols-life/.