The artist that I chose as the inspiration for my photo series this week is Ana Mendieta. As someone of Cuban descent like Mendieta, I had a deeper understanding of her background which played a role in how she pushed her artistic boundaries. She was an artist who dove into various aspects that she reflected in her work, one being her spiritual faith. “She was always very dramatic, even as a child — and liked to push the envelope, to give people a start, to shock them a little bit. It was who she was, and she enjoyed it very much. And she laughed about it sometimes when people got freaked out.” Mendieta has a series titled Silueta Works from which I derived most of my thought process. Because her photos are so extreme, I wanted to create a series that showed the importance of spirituality in Cuban culture and how Catholicism is blended with Santeria, an Afro-Cuban religion that is a large part of Cuban culture. "These questions would echo in her work, which explored themes that pushed ethnic, sexual, moral, religious and political boundaries. She urged viewers to disregard their gender, race or other defining societal factors and instead connect with the humanity they share with others."
In Ánima, Silueta de Cohetes, "she introduced her own Cuban religious heritage of Santería...They are not only offerings to this female deity, but reference her displacement from her country of origin from which the sea spatially and metaphorically separated her. These photographs are attempts at healing and repairing the sense of rupture from her island home she felt so keenly at the time." I try to explain and give a better understanding of the spirituality found in Cuban culture that indirectly inspired some of her works.
The Tarot Cards are used to basically tell your future, to give you a better understanding of what is happening in your life, and to act as a spiritual guide for the path that is ahead of you. The card readers are usually "Santeros", individuals that have the "gift" of speaking to spirits that are the spiritual guides of the Santero and the person being read. The clear glass of water is used to clear the surrounding energy so that the spirits can come through clearly. The more bubbles that you see in the water, the more spirits surround you.
La Caridad del Cobre is the patron saint of Cuba. In the Catholic faith, she is a version of the Virgin Mary. In Santeria, she is known as Ochun, the goddess of love, sexuality, fertility, exiles, and bodies of water. The rosary represents the deep Catholic faith of Cubans, and the praying over the Cuban flag is a symbol of all the prayers Cuban exiles pray to one day see a free Cuba. "Patria y Vida" is now the popular slogan used as a symbol of freeing Cuba.
In Santeria, many offerings are made to the spirits, including Rum and cigars (which Cuba is known to have the best of). The sage is burned to cleanse all the negative energy.
My final picture is of San Lazaro, one of the most important saints in Santeria. He is the god of sickness and healing and is shown with crutches and sores on his body. In Catholicism, he is Lazarus who had leprosy and was raised from the dead by Jesus. Many Cubans are very devoted to him. Santeros dress in white as a symbol of purity, peace of mind, and clarity.
Mendieta often used the elements of fire and water in her works. As seen in my images, fire is the candle and burning sage. Water is in the clear cup as part of creating clarity and good energy.
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| Tarot Cards |
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| Patria y Vida! |
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| Cleansing with Cuban Cigars, Rum & Sage |
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| San Lazaro |
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