Art & Inspiration N° 2 - Summer-Fall / Été-Automne 2013 | Page 66

ZOOM ON ARCHETYPES / ZOOM SUR LES ARCHÈTYPES

SOME KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING HER ARTWORK

Frida’s art is an art that cannot be compared to that of her contemporaries. Indeed, her art does not have the same revolutionary underlining of muralists, which Diego Rivera was the figurehead. Neither is it an expression of psychic forces (dreams, the unconscious) liberated from the artist’s control and driven by surrealism. In fact, she denies being a surrealist. "People thought I was a Surrealist. That's not right. I have never painted dreams. What I painted was my own reality." She mixes imagination with what exists in a reality that is comprehensible for each person.

The paintings from her youth are essentially representative of the classical influence of 19th century Mexican portraits inspired by European paintings. From 1928, her style changed, as was shown in Portrait of my Sister Cristina (1928). Her painting was from then on characterized by the harsh contours influenced by Diego Rivera’s style as well as by the Mexicanidad movement that advocates authentic Mexican art without Western influence and where Mexican folk art and pre-Columbian roots are honored. She then turned to Mexican votive (“ex-voto”) paintings for inspiration in terms of material, medium, format, general composition and pictorial execution in order to express her depiction of a saint or a martyr in a personal and transgressive style.

With German and Mexican ancestry, Frida expressed her mixed cultural identity in her artwork but she also created a mixed form of art by combining European, Mesoamerican and Oriental influences. From 1940, she became especially interested in Asian religions and this could be seen in her paintings.

Although she painted very little after her marriage, certain paintings that included her and Diego show a transformation that she initiated in order to forge an image of their relationship that became the public’s image of them, such as in Frieda Kahlo and Diego Rivera (1931). Instead of dressing in a revolutionist style (straight skirt, activist blouse, tie and her hair in a bun), she wore traditional clothing such as that of the Tehuanas of Tehuantepec who lived in a matriarchal society (embroidered blouses, silk rebozos, satin shirt or huipils decorated with colorful flowers). This choice emphasized her willingness to position herself as an independent and free woman.

Her artwork became committed to a higher purpose. It expresses the battle she led every day against her solitude, her physical and moral pain, and her position in Mexican society. Indeed, she explored topics considered to be taboo in a male-dominated society, such as childbirth, abortion, domestic violence, self-inflicted harm and homosexual relationships. Her study of the female body shows an early feminist thinking that she knew how to develop artistically. She is the first woman in the history of art to paint menstrual bleeding, which symbolizes impurity in all societies. She dared to use herself as an example to demonstrate what was taboo in Mexican society in the 1930s. In La Mascara (1945), she depicts herself wearing a mask representing La Malinche, a mythical figure in traditional Mexican culture. As the mistress of Cortés, La Malinche is seen both as a traitor and as the original mother of the Mexican people. Offered by Cortés to one of his men, Malinche also symbolizes the image of the woman seen as a sexual object. By depicting herself with these characteristics and with tears flowing, Frida expressed her

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L’œuvre de Frida est un art qui ne peut se comparer à celui de ses contemporains. En effet, son art n’a pas les accents révolutionnaires des muralistes dont Diego Rivera est la figure de proue. Il n’est pas non plus l’expression des forces psychiques (rêves, inconscient) libérées de tout contrôle de l’artiste prôné par le surréalisme. D’ailleurs elle se défend d’être une surréaliste « On me prenait pour une surréaliste. Ce n’est pas juste. Je n’ai jamais peint de rêves. Ce que j’ai représenté était ma réalité ». Elle mêle le réel et l’imaginaire dans une réalité compréhensible pour chacun.

Les œuvres de sa jeunesse sont essentiellement marquées par l’influence classique des portraits mexicains du XIXème siècle inspirés de la peinture européenne. A partir de 1928, son style se modifie comme l’illustre Portrait de ma sœur Cristina (1928). Sa

peinture est désormais marquée par des contours durs influencés par le style de Diego Rivera mais aussi par le mouvement

Frida Kahlo’s diary / Journal de Frida Kahlo

Crenn, Julie. Frida Kahlo, un art de l’identité : la gran occultadora, Genre & Histoire, 2, Spring 2008.

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LATIN AMERICAN AND SOUTH AMERICAN ARTISTS / ARTISTES D'AMERIQUE LATINE ET D'AMERIQUE DU SUD