Applying the Debrief Technique, “What? So What? Now What?”, to Ana Mendieta’s Photography

Do you remember the post, “What? So What? Now What?”. Here’s a quick recap: What? So What? Now What? is a debriefing technique that helps participants understand experiences, determine meaning, and apply lessons to life. Today we’re putting this technique into action by looking at art, specifically Ana Mendieta’s 1973 photograph, Imagen de Yagul, from their series Silueta Works in Mexico. The photograph will appear throughout this post so you don’t have to keep scrolling back up 🙂

Questions: What? So What? Now What?

This debrief technique uses variations of the core three questions: What? So What?, and Now What?. As a facilitator/therapist/teacher/parent, you’ll want to expand these questions, apply them to the specific situation, and engage with participants. For the sake of this example, I’ve proposed a few general questions you could ask participants about this photograph or other works of art. You can be as broad or as specific as you want with your questions. Be mindful that the questions you ask will likely skew how participants view the art and what kind of responses they provide. Input from someone in a position of power (such as a teacher, therapist, coach, or employee) can manipulate the perspectives of those who are less familiar with the material.

Answers

The answers I’ve included are not necessarily the ~right~ answers- they are simply responses for the sake of the example. It’s important to remember that participants will interpret each work of art differently- and that’s exactly how art is supposed to work! As far as how you respond to answers, here are a couple standard practices:

• Repeat the answer and then be quiet. People will often offer a deeper explanation.
• If there is more than one participant doing this activity, ask their opinion: Does anyone agree? Who has a feeling about that? How does this sit with you? Can we build on that?
• Provide participants an opportunity to expand by saying something like: Tell me more. What else? In what way? How do you know? Keep going

“I decided that for the images to have magic qualities… I had to go to the source of life.”

Ana Mendieta

What?

These questions ask the participant to observe the art and report what they see. We aren’t interpreting the art at this stage, simply noticing and perceiving.

• What do you see? A person. A person laying down. A naked woman laying in a hole covered with flowers.
• What don’t you see? We do not see the person’s face or body, besides limbs. We do not see more of the environment.
• What is happening? Someone is on the ground. That person is motionless- either dead, sleeping, or otherwise resting.
• Who is in the picture? We don’t know who is in the picture because we can’t see their face. We might not be meant to know who this person is. The person could be anyone.
• What is in the picture? Rocks. Flowers. Skin. Limbs. Shadows. Dirt. Edges. Sunlight.
• What assumptions can you make? I assume the person is a woman because…I assume the land is a desert environment because…I assume the person is motionless because…I assume the hole is human-made because….
• What do you have questions about? What kind of flowers are in the picture? What is the person doing there? How did they get there? Are they uncomfortable?
• What three emotions can you identify in this photograph? What three emotions do you feel when looking at this photograph? I can identify a feeling of calmness, although I personally feel worried about the person.

So What?

You do not have to be “right” about this! You don’t have to research the artist or know the inspiration behind their work. “So What?” is all about the participant’s interpretation.

• What does the picture mean? The flowers are sprouting from a body in the earth. The woman’s body is providing nourishment in some way.
• Why is the person in this situation? The woman is alone in a hole, like a grave. She is also naked. Maybe she is being punished? Maybe she is dead or sleeping?
• Why does this image matter? (Why would the artist bother making this art?) People aren’t usually considered part of nature. We don’t think the body belongs in this hole. It seems unnatural. The artist is proposing that the body is part of nature, part of the earth, just as much as the flowers and rocks and dirt.
• What do the surroundings represent? The desert earth is dry and unlivable. The flowers are vibrant and green. The differences between the earth and the plants represents….
• How would you feel if you were the person in the picture? The person in the picture is lonely and scared; they are secluded and cannot see through the plants. Although the sun is shining, they will probably get cold soon because they aren’t wearing clothes. The person would be uncomfortable laying naked on sharp rocks.

Now What?

Here’s where we pull it all together. Take everything you’ve talked about so far and ask the participants to make connections to their lives.

• What did you learn? I learned that a simple image can be highly symbolic…
• What are you taking away from this art? A situation that looks uncomfortable isn’t necessarily uncomfortable for the person in it.
• What are you thinking about now? I’m thinking about how you can tell the difference between environments based on the terrain.
• What does this image remind you of? This picture reminds me of my cousin’s funeral, when there were bouquets of flowers on her grave.
• What do you want to remember? I want to remember how bodies belong in nature, just like rocks and flowers and soil.
• What are you going to do now? I am going to take a walk and look for weeds along the sidewalk to make a bouquet for my cousin’s grave.
• How can you relate to the subject in this photograph? I go to bed every night…Sometimes I want to get in a hole…I feel exposed when…