Frida Kahlo

In the last 2 days I watched the movie Frida about a mexican artist. I found her art work rather strange, and plus she also has a really interesting background, so I thought I would do my blog on her.

Frida Kahlo (July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954)

In 1925, a trolley car collided with a bus Kahlo was riding; an iron handrail impaled her, broke her spine, and exited through her vagina. She survived her injuries and eventually regained her ability to walk, but she would have relapses of extreme pain which would plague her for life. After the accident, Kahlo turned her attention from a medical career to painting. Drawing on her personal experiences, her works are often shocking in their stark portrayal of pain and the harsh lives of women. Fifty-five of her 143 paintings are self-portraits that incorporate personal symbolism complete with graphic anatomical references. She was also influenced by indigenous Mexican culture, aspects of which she portrayed in bright colors, with a mixture of realism and symbolism.
An active Communist supporter, Kahlo allegedly had an affair with Leon Trotsky, who was assassinated at his home in Mexico City by agents of Stalin in 1940. Sometime after Trotsky's death, Frida denounced her former friend and praised the Soviet Union under Stalin. She spoke favorably of Mao, calling China "the new socialist hope". Her home was decorated with socialist art, including portraits of Marx, Engels, Stalin, and Mao.
Kahlo was noted for her unconventional appearance, including pronounced eyebrows (a unibrow) and a thin moustache which she did not remove.

here are some images of her work