Unseen Mendieta: The Unpublished Works of Ana Mendieta
Starred Review.  Multimedia pioneer Ana Mendieta (1948-1985) broke taboos and exploded the boundaries of fine art at every turn of her short career; sadly, her sudden death at 36 left her unorganized oeuvre in the hands of a distraught family and a few dedicated scholars. This book of previously unseen work, the result of years of research and cataloging by Mendieta authority Viso, is a must-have for fans. For those unfamiliar with her shocking and vibrant work, this is a fantastic introduction to Mendieta's demanding exploration of violence, the body, religion and the natural world. Characteristic, and perhaps the most disturbing, of her pieces, is Rape Scene, part of a series inspired by real events: "workshop participants invited to visit her apartment at a prearranged time... discovered her apartment door ajar. Inside the artist was posed silently, doubled over a table in a pool of blood with implements of violence scattered about." Working in public venues and frequently using her own body (or her blood) as a medium, Mendieta attempts to blaze a new path with every series of images: "My works do not belong to the modernist tradition... nor to the commercially historical-self-conscious assertions of what is called post-modernism." The accompanying text by Viso provides informative biographical information, as well as valuable interpretation and analysis.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.