For her senior project at New York University, Melanie Schiff made a video of herself theoretically, "committing suicide." She is currently makeing works about the female body. Schiff is acutely aware of Ana Mendieta's work dealing with rape and death. She explaines Mendieta's work as a, "possession of self- awareness" and the ability to, "connect to the space." (1 Camper) Schiff make photos about being a female in a seemingly male dominated practice.
Schiff made a photo in 2006 entitled Mud Reclining. This Photo is a direct referance to Mendietas performance at Old Man's Creek, Iowa in 1979. In Mendietas preformance she was naked and covered in mud. In Schiffs photo the model has left her underware on. Schiff is a trained photographer which automatically makes her compositions stronger. However, Mendieta is a performance artist, she realizes the need for the body to be completely exposed in order to gain a certain affects from her viewers.
Schiff stated that, "my work is about what it is to be a feminist and still make a sexy image," (1 Frerrara). Her photos have a Duchamp aspect about them. Shiff's work is deceptively simple yet straightforward. She objectifies women and empowers them at the same time. However, this time "the photo is made by a woman" (1Frerrara). She is interested in placing a seemingly male persona, on to a female.
