Frida Kahlo Flashcards
Artist profile:
Frida Kahlo
Remembered for her self-portraits
Celebrated in Mexico for her attention to Mexican and indigenous culture
Celebrated by feminists for her depiction
of the female experience and form.
EoA/PoD:
My Dress Hangs There
by Frida Kahlo
Dress:
-Lime green traditional Mexican Tehuana dress, similar to the ones Frida wore herself stands out against the dull, dark colours
-Hung on a string tied to a toilet bowl and sports trophy which are placed on Greek columns **
—->Surrounded by modern symbols that were prevalent in New York at the time e.g. oversized telephone and gas pump **
—->Represents the impersonal nature of capitalist society and the way in which people were reduced to faceless cogs in the machine of commerce
Set against the backdrop of **endless office buildings and skyscrapers of New York City. **
Uses a variety of familiar motifs and jostled them against each other, like a mural in Manhattan to criticise the American culture and way of life
_Background:_
-Statue of Liberty
-**Manhattan Skyline **(and the Statue of
Liberty) are symbols of progress, success and freedom
-Steamboats carrying people and goods across the strait which further emphasises the industrial and capitalist nature of the city
_Middle ground:_
-A peeling advertisement of international sex symbol, Mae West, placed in front of Trinity Church, an important religious
symbol in the US
—->Christian cross wrapped by letter ‘S’ (to create a dollar sign), merger of religious and capitalist icons which highlights the way in which money has become the “new” religion for many Americans
-Water tankson buildings and smoke towers from smoke factories - common sight in American cities
-Federal Hall - symbol of Wall Street and the heart of American capitalism
-On stairs leading up, there is a sales graph: further emphasises Frida’s contempt for the superficiality of American capitalism
_Bottom of canvas:_
-Breadlines - a queue of people waiting to receive free food (something like food rationing)
-Collage of photographs that depict the poverty and suffering of the lower classes, including bread lines and soldiers marching (shows the harsh realities of American life)
General:
-Lack of negative space, clutter of the scene which reflects the enclosed nature of concrete jungles in New York
-Dark and dull colours used reflects the monotony of the American society and represents a bleak and desolate vision of a city marked by decay, depravity and destruction of human dignity
-Use of excessive visual stimuli (newspaper cutting) added to the visual clutter of the scene, depicts how overwhelmed Frida Kahlo felt in the US
-Composition is that of a centralised triangle, and the symmetry of the painting results from an equal visual weight placed on the left and right sides of the painting
EoA/PoD:
My Grandparents, My Parents, and I
by Frida Kahlo
Frida’s parents in their wedding attire, with
portraits of Frida’s grandparents floating
above them -> placement of portraits to serve emphasis on her mixed heritage
Mother’s Mexican ancestry positioned over a mountain range, cactus in foreground which is a common sight in Mexico
Father’s European heritage placed over an ocean to symbolise the distance of Europe from their home
Mexican coastline that separates the land and water, Frida has a stronger association to Mexican roots but has not forgotten her European ones
Red ribbons that support the floating portraits cascade down to Kahlo herself, depicted as a baby girl standing in front of her parents in the courtyard of La Casa Azul, the blue house where grew up
Ribbon
-> as though she is holding tightly onto her genealogy, which indicates her pride in her heritage+ which symbolises the strength and resilience of Frida’s family bonds
Loop in bloodline may be a
symbol of Frida’s infertility,
which meant she was the end
of her family’s bloodline ->
sense of sadness and guilt over
this fact
Umbilical chord hanging from Frida’s mother’s stomach, connected to a floating foetus +
Sperm swimming through the ribbon loop to fertilise an egg+
Pollen released from a nearby cactus flower, fertilising the egg by chance
->Symbolise accidental pregnancy,
Frida’s parents’ marriage was one of convenience rather than love
Frida is positioned in front of her father, with whom she identified more with than with her mother
Main Idea Expressed:
My Dress Hangs There
By Frida Kahlo
Critique of American industrialization and capitalism, juxtaposing it with Frida’s Mexican heritage.
The dress, a symbol of Kahlo’s identity, hangs lifeless amidst the symbols of modernity, suggesting a loss of cultural identity in the face of industrial progress.
Main Idea Expressed:
My Grandparents, My Parents, and I
by Frida Kahlo
The painting explores themes of identity, heritage, and the passing of time. It reflects Kahlo’s deep connection to her family and her cultural roots, as well as her exploration of her own identity through the lens of her ancestors
