Artworks

Ana Mendieta

Butterfly, 1975

Super-8mm film transferred to high-definition digital media, color, silent

Running time: 3:19 minutes

In a brief yet prolific career, the Cuban-born artist Ana Mendieta created groundbreaking work in photography, film, video, drawing, sculpture, and site-specific installations. In the film Butterfly, 1975, Ana Mendieta incorporated a 16-channel video processor to add a high-contrast, polarized graphic-effect to images of herself with what appear to be feathered wings. This film demonstrates the artist’s technical innovations and singular approach to film, revealing aspects of her practice that have been increasingly brought to light.