Environmental Art: Earth Body / Ana Mendieta

 

 


Review


Ideas About Art

1

Based on Plato's philosophical reflection on the arts and beauty,  the artist copies the experienced object, or uses it as a model for his work. For the philosopher, on the other hand, beauty resides in the idea and not in sensible things. 

2

For Aristotle beauty is contained in symmetry, which he considers the symbol of perfection, linked to the classic concept of beauty: harmony, order and proportion.

3

Baumgarten, reaffirmed that the essence of beauty could not occur without the discovery of aesthetic sensible pleasure. The beautiful and the aesthetic are not alien to the sensitive. What comprises the artistic is given through sensibility.

4

Baumgarten proposes aesthetics as a science of sensible knowledge, which deals with beauty. "The end of aesthetics is the perfection of sensible knowledge as such and this is beauty." 

5

Kant is interested in art for its connection with beauty, not for art itself. Beauty, according to Kant, is not a quality typical of beautiful things produced by artists, but rather a feeling of pleasure of the subject who judges things as beautiful, whether they are works of art or of nature. 

6

Hegel established that aesthetics was a science that deals not with sensations but with the philosophy of art. For Hegel, art is the highest platform for spiritual elevation. For Hegel, art is the perfect sensuous expression of the freedom of spirit. It is in classical art, therefore—above all in ancient Greek sculpture (and drama)—that true beauty is to be found.

7

In the 19th century, however, avant-garde concepts applied to aesthetics began to question traditional approaches. The change was very evident in painting with the French Impressionists, Post-Impressionists,  Cubists and Expressionists through the artist's emotions and feelings. 

 

CONCEPTUAL ART

Definition 

Conceptual art, sometimes simply called conceptualism, is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. In other words, it is art in which the idea presented by the artist is considered more important than the finished product, if there is one.

 

Terms

Marcel Duchamp

Retinal Art

Readymades

Found Objects

Installation Art

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I

Unit: Environmental Art

Theme: Earth-Body Art


Introduction

Today we come full circle to the idea the art should exist for art's sake. The term "environmental art," for instance, often encompasses "ecological" concerns but is not specific to them. It primarily celebrates an artist's connection with nature using natural materials. The concept is best understood in relationship to historic earth/Land art and the evolving field of ecological art. 

Another form of art inspired by nature is Ephemeral art. Artistic creations are made from items found in nature including leaves, sticks, bark, pebbles, seedpod, nuts, berries, petals, sand or shells. Options are endless, anything in nature can be used to create art for art's sake.

A third form of art that uses nature as its medium is Earth Body Art. This form allows artists to use their bodies in relation to nature to make a personal statement. The term was coined by Ana Mendieta who is our case study for today's class. Mendieta's art is the ultimate example of what art for art's sake can look like.


II

Learning Objectives

  • Understand the significance of earth-body art
  • Explain the elements used in the creation of earth-body art
  • Gain an awareness of the importance of nature's classical elements in Mendieta's work
  • Experience the creation of an individual and collective earth-body piece


III

Main Lesson

For Earth-Body work to take place, the artist has to define him/herself as an Earth-body artist. In this kind of art, Earth sculptures reproduce the artist's body with natural materials. This work traces the contours of a human body to integrate it with nature. 

 

Question 1

What is Earth body art?


2


 
Instructions
  1. Explore your chosen location. ...
  2. Choose a site to create your art. ...
  3. Find an interesting idea to make your art.
  4. Let your imagination run free. ...
  5. Create earth-body art combining your body with the elements of site.
  6. Take pictures to record your creations.

Question 2

Summarize in your own words the instructions given above.

 

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IV

A Note to Remember

Earth art is art that is made directly in the landscape, sculpting the land itself into earthworks or making structures in the landscape using natural materials such as rocks or twigs. Earth art, also referred to as Land art or Earthworks, is largely an American movement that uses the natural landscape to create art. Land art, variously known as Earth art, environmental art, and Earthworks, is an art movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, largely associated with Great Britain and the United States but that also includes examples from many countries.

 

 

V

Case Study

Ana Mendieta


Ana Mendieta (November 18, 1948 – September 8, 1985) was a Cuban-American performance artist, sculptor, painter and video artist. She was best known for her "earth-body" artwork. She was born in Havana and left for the United States in 1961 through the Peter Pan Exodus. In a brief yet prolific career, Mendieta created groundbreaking work in photography, film, video, drawing, sculpture and performance art.


1



 


 Question 3


What elements used Mendieta in her work? Why is her work important?
 
 

2



Question 4

According to Howard Oransky what elements of Mendieta's life found their way into her work?


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3





Raquel Cecilia Mendieta on Ana Mendieta at Galerie Lelong

 

 

Question 6


In which way was Mendieta's work experimental?

 

Question 7

 

After watching these videos, why is Mendieta's art work considered conceptual? 



Summary

The main themes in Mendieta's work were history, culture, memory and ritual. She worked with classical elements in nature: earth, wind, water and fire. Water for Mendieta signified spiritual purification whereas blood meant ritual. Earth meant the place where she found a sense of belonging. The main theme of her art was her struggle to reconcile her past in Cuba as a child, with her present in America.
8
 
 
Article

  
 
 
 
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VI


Activity 1

Earth-Body Art

a) Go outdoors. 
 
b) Find a green spot, observe it and find an element that you find beautiful, or resonates with who you are. 
 
Individual Work
 
c) Interact with the environment and photograph (or record) your interaction with your chosen element.

Group Work
 
d) Go back to your groups. 
 
Agree on using an element (within your individual chosen spot) and make an artistic-interactive proposition Mendieta's style.
 
 Record it and/or photograph it. 
 
POST YOUR WORK ON DISCUSSION BOARD.

 

Activity 2

 

Gather with your group and create a lesson plan based on your experience with earth-body art making. 

 

VI

 

Journaling

 

VII

Glossary

 

VIII 

Sources

 

 

IX

Students' Work 
 

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