Incorporados: The Art of Ana Mendieta

Abstract

The art of Ana Mendieta, though still largely unrecognized, has an important place in art history. Not only is it significant to the development of new ways of creating art, but the ideas presented call into question commonly accepted attitudes of American society in radical ways. In her rejection of the gallery space and transformation of performance art into sculpture works, into art as a disappearing act, Mendieta explores the shaky boundaries of what art actually is and could be. In these explorations, she dissects the idea of identity and gives it a new definition on her own terms. This essay explores Mendieta's mostly ignored early works in conjunction with her more well known later pieces in order to give a more full examination of both the ideas present and the importance the work has beyond her own personal life and to the whole of society.