My Birth Kahlo Analysis

Frida Kahlo was a very talented Mexican artist that revolutionized art at a very young age. Her work is still idolized and celebrated today and is studied by many artists, institutes of higher education, museums, and fans. Kahlo was born in the town of Coyoacan, Mexico on July the sixth in the year of 1907 (Kettenmann 3). She made around 143 paintings, and out of those 143 paintings, 55 were self-portraits that included symbolism of her physical and emotion pain. Furthermore, in her portraits she used symbolism to express her wounds and sexuality. She use to say: “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality” (Fuentes 41). Her paintings style include of vibrant colors and was heavily influenced

The question of “why feminism?” has been presented to a number of female artists who deal with strong constructions of gender in their work. The answer, overwhelmingly, has been the desire to modify stereotypes about women that have prevailed in male-dominated art history. In the 1960’s, women who explored “feminist” issues in their art were criticized, causing mass mobilization and conscious raising as to what, exactly, was the purpose of feminist art (Crowell, 1991). Since that time, women have been trying desperately to overturn the art world and rescind the traditional stereotypes and images that have plagued them. Feminist artists created somewhat of a unified front during that

At one point or another, we all have been exposed to unconventional woman in art who has been more recognizable by her signature unibrow and flower headdresses. This woman is known as Frida Kahlo, a well known Mexican American surrealist artist who went through many struggles in dealings with a challenging upbringing in a time of revolution and a lifetime of pain. But with a challenge, there is also strength. Kahlo possessed many strengths that allowed her to prevail against these factors that went against her and become an icon in art.

Frida Kahlo, she never intended to become a painter. Kahlo was aspired to become a doctor as a young woman, but after a horrible accident at the age of 18, it left her mentally, as well as physically scared for life. This event had totally changed her life forever. The theme in almost all of Frida’s painting was her own life. Her paintings were based on events took place during her lifetime. As we can see in many of Frida’s paintings, especially in her self-portraits, it expresses her own personal emotions along with feelings about an event that happened in her life, such as her physical condition, her lack of ability to conceive children of her own, her ideology of life and nature, and most important of all, it was her unstable relationship with her husband Diego. Somewhere between the movement of surrealism, realism and symbolism in the art of Frida Kahlo, she was able to bring out tenderness, femininity, reality, cruelty and suffering within her paintings.

Tragedy, a crippling experience many people endure in life, yet some give up and the courageous few fight back. Frida Kahlo exemplifies the strength required to express oneself openly and boldly, sharing her painful life through paintings. Kahlo is one of the most famous female painters from Mexico and is known for her mutilating, heartbreaking and courageous self-portraits of her life. Through her various paintings and self portraits, she has created a journal and self-biography of her life that will give her immortality and inspire future generations of artists. Frida Kahlo has become an icon of female creativity from her emotionally charged paintings of her life, unfortunate tragedies and battle of survival. Kahlo was never a woman of conventional ways. She was bold with her art and views of politics as well as being eccentric from what was expected of a female in Mexico.

The artwork Frida Kahlo completed during her lifetime was heavily influenced by the suffering triggered by the torment of her physical incapability’s and tumultuous marriage. From physical to romantic to family predicaments Frida Kahlo is the epitome of demonstrating “alegria [joy] in the face of suffering” (Herrera 6).

More than 60 years have passed since the death of Frida Kahlo, a Surrealist Mexican painter. Frida Kahlo’s many talents were overshadowed by her husband’s fame during the course of her life. Yet, it wasn’t until her death and the early 1970’s where Frida’s artistic effort started to surpass that of her political and creative husband. Her biography is both depressive and particularly interesting. Many of her private moments and experiences are shared in her greatest pieces of art. Some of those valuable masterpieces contain her cherished possessions, in addition to them being the things that established her popularity and appreciation among distinct genders, cultures and ages around the world. Knowing this, it was in my interest to devote some quality time and effort to this woman whose life immediately captivated my attention and inspired me to understand and endure life as a woman.

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo’s fame only grew larger after her death, bringing her art as well as her personal life into museums, books, and also movies. Through her life Kahlo dealt with various illness, tumultuous relationships, and was even involved in some political movements. Consequently, her art was influenced by all the experiences as seen and felt through her own eyes and flesh.

Before her life as an artist, Frida Kahlo would suffer traumatic experiences that will lead her to taking her first steps into the world of art. She would experience pain in her childhood that will lead into her early adulthood. As an adult, Frida would then suffer a fatal accident as well as the infidelity of her husband. In addition to the personal issues she endured, she also dealt with the questioning of her national identity. Kahlo’s artistic abilities later led her to create self-portraits which often showed herself suffering. Using her personal tragedies, Frida Kahlo was able to render paintings that resembled pain and suffering.

Reading Mimi Y. Yang’s “Articulate Image, Painted Diary: Frida Kahlo's Autobiographical Interface, " I was particularly impressed with the amount of struggle Frida lived with daily and how she chose to overcome to express her pain through her paintings, and her loneliness through her diaries (Yang, 314). It’s truly remarkable how beautiful Frida’s paintings are, and how much her suffering comes through in works such as The Broken Column and The Two Fridas. I know if I were in as much pain, both physically and emotionally, as Frida, I would most likely stay in bed all day, never mind have the strength to express my personal inner emotions through confessional mediums. Additionally, Frida’s free expression taught me to embrace who I am, both the negative and positive aspects, as she did. Frida never seemed to give into society’s expectations of a female, and continuously pushed boundaries with her confessional art, an aspect of Frida I believe all individuals should

In 1932, Kahlo added more naturalistic to her painting style. She was always one of the most painfully personal of artists, by making paintings that dealt with her terrible injuries she suffered in a tram crash to her abortion. In her panting Henry Ford Hospital (1932) Frida Kahlo laid on a hospital bed naked and was surrounded with a few things floating around her which included a fetus, flower, pelvis all things connected by veins. This painting was how she expressed herself about her second miscarriage.(Frida Kahlo.org) When she could of sat around and be depressed she decided to paint her grief away. When

More than 60 years have passed since the death of Frida Kahlo, a Surrealist Mexican painter. Frida Kahlo’s many talents were overshadowed by her husband’s fame during the course of her life. Yet, it wasn’t until her death and the early 1970’s where Frida’s artistic effort started to surpass that of her political and creative husband. Her biography is both depressive and particularly interesting. Many of her private moments and experiences are shared in her greatest pieces of art. Some of those valuable masterpieces contain her cherished possessions, in addition to them being the things that established her popularity and appreciation among distinct genders, cultures and ages around the world. Knowing this, it was in my interest to devote some quality time and effort to this woman whose life immediately captivated my attention and inspired me to understand and endure life as a woman.

Frida Kahlo is a world-renowned Mexican painter known for her shocking self-portaits filled with painful imagery. Her artwork was seen by many as surrealist and socialist, but she refused the labels put on herself. Until today, her works have been able to exude the same playful and wild feel as before (Fisher n.p). Her legacy as a painter has attracted prominent people like Madonna who has confessed her admiration for the painter. Not only that but fashion designers are frequently inspired by her iconic Tijuana dresses while her paintings have been priced at more than three million dollars (Bauer 115).

4. Frida Kahlo essentially became an international cultural icon, honored by many people, especially in Mexico. Her artwork withholds visual symbolism of all kinds of emotional and physical pain and most importantly she incorporated indigenous culture and her depiction of the female experience. Including illustrating the feelings of death, loneliness, pain, including the pain of miscarriages, failed marriage, and the aftermath of tragic accidents. Through her imagery, she was able to portray her life experiences. She would include specific elements that symbolized something greater. Throughout the process of analyzing all different aspects of Frida Kahlo’s paintings, it provided a deeper understanding to each painting.

There is some disparity between the way critics and philosophers like Judith Butler view Cindy Sherman's work and the way that Cindy Sherman speaks of her photographs. It may be the disparity that exists between many modern artists, who often operate on an intuitive level, and the philosopher critics who comment upon them from a theoretical perspective or a pre-established framework. On one level, Cindy Sherman may only be playing "dress-up" (as she herself admits) in her famous History Portraits (1989-90) (Berne, 2003). On another level, however, her "dressing-up" may be indicative of a deeper problem in modern gender identity theory which is the problem of "becoming" woman (Butler, 1994) or, as Judith Butler sees it, the problem of performativity. In the History Portraits, Sherman may certainly be said to be "performing" and perhaps even attempting to "become" the male and female characters she represents in her work. Indeed, it is upon such a premise that philosopher critics and gender theorists find her work so engaging. This paper will examine Cindy Sherman and her History Portraits in relation to Judith Butler's gender theory, the portrayal of the self, and how gender identity has changed throughout the course of modern history. It will examine representations of womanhood from Romantic Idealism to Post-Modernism and will also