Object Details
Artist
Ana Mendieta, born Havana, Cuba 1948-died New York City 1985
Gallery Label
This three-minute film captures a performance by the artist in a darkened space. As Ana Mendieta remains still and expressionless, drops of blood-red moisture, at first difficult to perceive, slowly accumulate along her brow, then pool and trickle down her face.
For Mendieta, blood is a powerful symbol. Used across Catholic, Caribbean Santería, and pre-Columbian spiritual practices, it can evoke life as well as death. Sweating Blood is among a group of works the artist made in the wake of the rape and murder of a woman on the campus of the University of Iowa, where Mendieta was a student at the time. Both the sacred potential and violent implications of blood are suggested in this confrontational yet ambiguous performance.
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, Administered through the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative
Copyright
© The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection LLC. Courtesy Galerie Lelong & Co. Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Date
1973
Object number
2021.38
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Media Arts
Medium
single channel, super-8mm film transferred to high-definition digital media, color, silent; 03:18 minutes
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Time-Based Media Art
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, 3rd Floor, North Wing
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Figure female
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_2021.38