Diasporic Voices Exile Consciousness in the Works of Melinda Lopez, Arturo Rodriguez, and Ana Mendieta
Date of Award
2007
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Hassold, Cris
Keywords
Exile, Cuba, Cuban-American, Cultural Identity
Area of Concentration
Humanities
Abstract
This project is an exploration of exile consciousness in the works of three Cuban-American artists-Melinda Lopez (a playwright), Arturo Rodriguez (a painter), and Ana Mendieta (a body/earthwork artist). Based on the artists' position as "one-and-a-half generation" exiles raised outside of the Miami Cuban community, their experience is unique in that they must cope with two identity-defining transitions: adolescence and acculturation. I argue that exile, as opposed to emigre or refugee, is a psychological state of being that transcends physical terms. Representing border identities, the inbetween state of these artists is expressed through different tropes of exile. In Melinda Lopez's Sonia Flew, exile is discussed in terms of Sigmund Freud's concept of trauma In Arturo Rodriguez's paintings, exile is universalized through the artist's depiction of alienation and displacement as part of the human condition. Rodriguez's work is is analyzed in terms of his position as a specular border intellectual and Foucault's writings on madness. Finally, Ana Mendieta's Silueta series depicts exile as a perpetually transient or liminal state, despite the artist's efforts to reconstitute a connection to the earth or nation. As a female minority artist, Mendieta is doubly displaced. Judith Butler's concept of performativity and Jacques Derrida's concept of aporia frame my discussion of the Silueta series as an impossible passage.
Recommended Citation
Morales, Elsie, "Diasporic Voices Exile Consciousness in the Works of Melinda Lopez, Arturo Rodriguez, and Ana Mendieta" (2007). Theses & ETDs. 3830.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3830
Rights
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