Naked by the Window: The Fatal Marriage of Carl Andre and Ana Mendieta - Hardcover

Katz, Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0871133547 ISBN 13: 9780871133540

Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Pr, 1990

Synopsis

Explores the turbulent personal and professional relationship between two highly regarded artists, drawing on numerous interviews and Mendieta's papers to shed light on the mystery of her death

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Reviews

In 1985 well-known minimalist sculptor Carl Andre informed police that his wife, avant-garde painter-sculptor Ana Mendieta, had fallen out of the window of their SoHo, New York City, apartment following a quarrel. Charged with murder, he was acquitted three years later in a nonjury trial. Although Katz ( Death in Rome ) does not directly argue that Andre pushed his wife to her death, his post-trial investigation turned up new evidence that casts doubt on the defense's claim that Mendieta's death was accidental or a suicide. At the time of the trial, it was divulged that she had a crippling fear of heights and avoided windows, and that Andre had scratches on his body the night of his wife's death. And the fact that Mendieta, who was planning to file for divorce, had photocopied documentation of her husband's suspected infidelities was deemed inadmissible. Katz's shocking police procedural is at once a glimpse into the tight, elitist New York art world, an affecting portrait of a Cuban-American woman artist, and an act of remembrance. Photos.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

On September 8, 1985, Soho artist Ana Mendieta fell 34 floors to her death. After slow progress through the judicial system, Ana's husband, renowned minimalist artist Carl Andre, was tried for murder and found not guilty. Katz takes the often-told story of love and marriage gone wrong and makes it fascinating by vividly describing the New York art scene of which Andre and Mendieta were an integral part. Soon after Mendieta's death, this world split into two warrings camps, and Katz, whose sympathy lies with the Mendieta camp, essentially accuses Andre's followers of closing ranks, protecting him at all costs, and making it impossible for the prosecution to prove its case. A gripping story, very well told. Highly recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/1/90.
- Sandra K. Lindheimer, Middlesex Law Lib., Cambridge, Mass.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Pr
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0871133547
• ISBN 13: 9780871133540
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 428