In her English 110 historical research paper, Bertha explores the passion, pain and art of Frida Kahlo. Where and how did Frida develop her incredible spirit? How can we learn from her? Unfortunately, Bertha says, Frida’s legacy is being chipped away and faded by mass commercialism. More people know her from T-shirts than they do from her courageous art. Bertha does her best to set the record straight.
Frida Kahlo: Artist, Feminist, Revolutionary, Unibrow
Frida Kahlo made herself known through the art she created. Some knew of the health problems she had dealt with in her life, such as polio and injuries from a bus incident. Later in her life, people learned of her politics and her views on feminism. Still, there are many people in the present who don’t know much about Frida. One writer put it this way: “There’s Frida the feminist, Frida the communist, Frida the Mexican, Frida the folk hero, Frida the controversial Barbie Doll, and on and on” ("Impossible to Label Frida"). Most people recognize the Mexican painter first by her unibrow and last by her artwork. Her life work is being forgotten due to people focusing on superficial aspects of her being. Although a lot of people know of Frida Kahlo, they only know that she was a painter and had a unibrow. They know this because of items that have been sold that use her face. This doesn't take into account everything that she did when she was alive or accurately describe her legacy. Frida Kahlo was a feminist and political figure who expressed her tragedies and love through art, and yet not many people know of the legacy she left behind.
Frida Kahlo was a troubled soul. So much she endured in her forty-seven years of life that both contributed to the heaviness in her heart and served to inspire passion. Frida dealt with a lot of inner struggles. She had a hard time believing her paintings and drawings were good. In turn, she found it hard to believe that others would like her art. In particular, she sought the approval of Diego Rivera. Furthermore, Frida's entire life was filled with tragedies. She had to deal with health issues, including the polio she had when she was a child and the bus incident when she was a teen that left her with multiple injuries that would affect her the rest of her life. Additionally, she had problems having a baby, a result of the bus incident. She also had a great conflict in her marriage to Diego Rivera. Rivera's infidelity caused many problems including a strained relationship with her sister because of their affair. Although these struggles caused great pain, they were the inspirations for many of her works. Kahlo, as a person, was very complicated. Not only did she have great talent, but the actions she took throughout her life showed the type of person she was. She was a socialist and took an active part in her country's politics. She often reflected these views in her paintings. Frida was also a feminist. Her paintings often depicted real struggles of women. She defied gender stereotypes, which at the time she was alive, was a difficult thing to do. Even with the many great things about Frida, she did have some negative qualities. Among those is her infidelity to her husband. She had done it because her husband had been unfaithful to her in the first place but she did decide to do it as well. She had trouble understanding that Rivera would never be monogamous but she loved him deeply. The events that occurred throughout her life as well as her reactions and feelings towards those events helped shape who she was. It helped to form a complicated artist whose legacy would be left behind for many to admire.
- To read Bertha's entire research paper, please click on the following link: Frida.
- To learn more about the "Real" Frida, please click on the following video:
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In this first section of Friends of the Earth,
students take the time to introduce themselves through their reading.
Instead of the brief mention of their hobbies and pets, they reflect on
a memorable literary experience. You might not judge a book by its cover, but here we learn
what is often hidden inside of others.
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