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Body Tracks

Body Tracks

Artist/Maker (American, born in Cuba, 1948–1985)
DateAugust 1974
MediumSuite of five chromogenic prints
DimensionsOverall (each): 9 1/2 × 7 1/2 in. (24.1 × 19.1 cm)
Frame: 17 7/8 × 47 3/4 × 1 3/4 in. (45.4 × 121.3 × 4.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of Cristina Delgado (OC 1980) and Stephen F. Olsen (OC 1979)
Edition6/10
Object number2011.14.3
Status
Not on view
Copyright© Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, Courtesy Galerie Lelong, New YorkMore Information
Cuban-born artist Ana Mendieta utilized her body as a catalyst for ephemeral actions, subsequently preserved only through documents and photographs. She often staged her performances out in nature, uniting her body with the landscape. In Body Tracks, blood-red smears of paint trace the strokes left by Mendieta’s arms, recorded in five stages. This simple, momentary act and its reference to bodily fluids evoke a religious ritual.
Provenance(Gallery Lelong, New York); purchased by Cristina Delgado and Stephen F. Olsen, Brooklyn, NY; by gift 2011 to Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OHExhibition History
Artists on Artists
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 7, 2012 - July 29, 2012 )
Religion, Ritual, and Performance in Modern and Contemporary Art
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (August 28, 2012 - May 26, 2013 )
Latin American and Latino Art at the Allen
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 2, 2014 - June 28, 2015 )
Women Bound and Unbound
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 5, 2019 - May 26, 2019 )
Collections
  • Modern & Contemporary
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