Author Description

Cuban American artist Ana Mendieta was working on many important projects that were left incomplete at the time of her tragic death in 1985 at age 36. Among these was a beautiful book of photo etchings of her carvings of female figures in remote caves on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba. These sculptures were inspired by the myths and beliefs of the Tainos, preColumbian inhabitants of the West Indies. This publication reproduces in facsimile Mendieta's unfinished book of photo etchings and related works and publishes, for the first time, her notes and writings for this important project. Mendieta's work crosses the categories of earth art, body art, performance and conceptual photography. As her works generally were site specific and ephemeral, they became know primarily through the photographic documentation she exhibited in galleries and museums. She intended her intimate book of photo etchings to capture the experience of viewing her elusive life-size sculptures in the close quarters of the caves. Illustrated with many never-before published photographs, this book is an important contribution to the understanding of his extraordinary artist.