Frida Kahlo: An Open Book Through Her Art

Frida Kahlo: An Open Book Through her Art

Painting is a form of self-expression. Ones inner thoughts and feelings can be conveyed through a single picture. Frida Kahlo, a famous Mexican artist, had the truly special and unique talent of being able to articulate her deep emotions with a simple brush. Because of her passion she was capable of capturing all her obstacles and dreams using an image. Frida's life story was shaped by physical and mental pain and this dual suffering was the major foundation and theme of her art.

Frida was born July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico. Ever since she was young there was a profound void in her heart. Her mother, who was more concerned with her other daughter Christina, demonstrated no affection toward Frida. Instead, her Mexican nurse was more of a maternal figure, even though she neglected her as well. Her father who loved her dearly was sick the majority of her childhood. She described her household as "very very sad" (Gannit 13). One day Frida and her sister Cristina were playing in the yard, Frida pushed Cristina and because of her fury Cristina made up a story that Frida was "picked up in a garbage" (Fuentes 29). This had a major impact on Frida's life; it was the root of doubt toward her identity.

Frida's life transformation started in 1913, when she was merely six years old. Her right leg was affected with polio causing it to be thinner and more diminutive when compared to her left leg. Frida spent nine months in bed, with a great deal of pain. Her father strived to help Frida overcome her illness. He recommended bicycling, soccer, swimming, boxing, and even wrestling; a combination of things that were highly bizarre for a girl brought up in suitable Mexican society. At school the kids teased and scorned her, calling her a peg leg. These ridicules distressed her returned to disturb her later in her life. "At first I assumed that the children's taunts would not affect me but later they really did, and each time worse." (Kahlo quoted in Rummel 8).

In 1922 Frida's father sent her to Escuela National a particularly prestigious preparatory school. Fridas' mother disagreed with the idea because she said it was too far and it was co-educational, five girls to 300 boys, which was unusual during those times (Alcantara 11). In the start of her years at the Escuela National Frida had considered studying medicine. She was confused with her identity, she wore her hair parted and pulled back in order for it too look short, she frequently wore men's clothing, and she used crude language. In her early years at the school she joined the gang "Los Cachuchas" which means "The Hats." They played pranks and loved being rebellious; Frida fit right in. Her first boyfriend, Alejandro Gomez Aries, was the leader of the gang.

September 17, 1925 was the day that Frida's life would change forever. She and Alejandro were on a bus after school, and it crashed. Alejandro was unharmed; however, Frida was rigorously injured. Her right foot was dislocated and crushed; her spine and pelvis were severely damaged. A metal rod had pierced Frida's hip exiting through her vagina. She thought of this day as the loss of her virginity (Alcantara 18).

Frida was in a cast for thirty-one days straight. She could not move. Her friends' infrequently visited her because her home was far and Alejandro and she were growing apart. Frida was dreadfully lonely. Her parents seldom visited during the first month because they could not handle seeing Frida in such a manner. Throughout Frida's extensive recuperation her mother put a mirror above her bed and got her a special canvas so that she could paint. Frida considered painting to be her therapy. "Painting was my only true medicine, it completed my life." (Kahlo quoted in Poniatowska 5). Frida always painted with care. To understand her real self one just needed to look at her paintings. Frida loved painting herself, "I paint myself because I am so often alone, and because I am the subject I know best" (Gannit 37). Frida decided not to return to school because she had found her true zeal, to paint.

My Grandparents, My Parents, and I (1936) was a painting in which Frida unfolded the creation of herself. Just like American author Nathaniel Hawthorne writes every word for a reason, every object and color Frida paints has a purpose. In this painting, she illustrates her Mexican and German heredity. Her grandparents are connected to her parents with a red ribbon symbolizing blood or blood relation. She is revealed as a toddler holding the two sides of the family together. Her mother and father are in their wedding attire and her mother has a fetus in her which is her sister Christina. The school of sperm drawn at the bottom shows that her father contributed to her birth as well as her mother (Herrera 59). Frida stands in her courtyard of Casa Azul, the house in which she was born. Her home lays between

the background of Mexico and the sea. Frida stands in front of her father because she loved him greatly and considered

him more of a parent than her mother.

Moreover, Frida's polio was evidently always on Frida's mind. There are numerous paintings in which her sickness of polio is exposed. In Memory (1937) Frida shows her trouble with growing up. The confusion between the child dress and the adult dress explains how she does not know her true identity. On her right leg she has a special shoe due to her illness. This painting shows her trying to leave her childhood and memories of the taunting behind her. Frida also had airplanes and immobile objects in her art as a metaphore of her immobility during her nine months in bed (Gannit 47).

The Broken Column (1944) was a demonstration of Frida's physical and mental pain because of her accident. She shows her physical pain through the needles piercing her body and the spine which is destroyed. The cast is a form of cage, she felt trapped inside and out. Her many tears and deserted backround show her emotional pain and lonliness. Without Hope (1945) was painted too in result to her accident. It pertains to her diet which she needed to follow in order to recover. She found it repulsive. Here Frida is delivering her inside feelings and positions. All that the accident had caused her was horror.

After Frida's three years of recovery she miraculously was well again. In 1928 she attended a gathering of a Mexican photographer, Tina Modotti. (Herrera 108). There began her second accident, her relationship with Diego Rivera. Diego and Frida were married on August 21, 1929. That same year she painted Self Portrait. In this particular slef portrait she decided to