Ecomythologies: Filming Ana Mendieta
Over the past four decades, Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta (1948-1985) has gained international recognition for her visionary art, which addresses important 21st-century debates centered on the female body, the return to the land, and the vagaries of migration and exile. We have invited Raquel Cecilia Mendieta, niece of the artist and holder of her estate, to screen two short documentaries based on Mendieta's life and art, Whispering Cave (2018) and Nature Inside (2015), on May 2, 2025.
The event would be presented by Adriana Méndez Rodenas, professor emerita at the University of Iowa and the University of Missouri. A specialist in Latin American and Caribbean literature, Professor Méndez Rodenas has written and presented extensively on Mendieta's art, including “Ecomythologies: Ana Mendieta's Earth/Body Sculptures and the Cuban Imaginary."
Information about the films:
Ana Mendieta, Nature Inside (2018), a film by Raquel Cecilia. Documentary, 8:23 min.
Artist, Ana Mendieta, narrates as corresponding images of her work in both still and moving images highlight her themes and meanings behind her work.
Whispering Cave (2015), a short film by Raquel Cecilia. Documentary, 27 min.
In 1981, artist Ana Mendieta created several sculptures in the caves of Jaruco, Cuba. 36 years later, her niece becomes convinced that the lost cave is a myth and she sets out on a journey to find it.
