Frida ~ Tension and Passion

Spent the evening wandering round the Frida Kahlo exhibition at the Tate Modern with Chris. Not the happiest collection of paintings but beautiful nonetheless. This is one of my favourites, one of her many self portraits with monkeys (spider monkeys).

It would be so easy to think of her as 'poor Frida' with her spine and legs broken in an accident when she was young with gradually deteriorating health. But that's not how I see her. A brave woman, yes, but proud with it, a heart full of love, a love of truth and beauty and a determination to share her vision of the world. And her world is both scary and beautiful. I'd love to know more about her. Naturally, I saw the film when it came out (and then got the DVD) but I bought her biography tonight to learn more about her.

One of my favourite paintings is one of the earlier American ones when she accompanied her husband (Diego Rivera) to America while he painted murals for rich Americans. There were a few at the exhibition contrasting America with Mexico and I love 'Self Portrait on the Borderline' - you can't really see it very clearly here, but the thing I really like is the row of exotic Mexican flowers along the bottom of the painting in contrast to the American gadgets and wires on the right side of the painting. The primitivism of the left side and the industrial right side of the painting. And there's Frida in the middle with a Mexican flag and a tab on. This painting can be on my wall any time.

I was quite touched at learning something of her life at the exhibition. She died 'fighting the Man' and is to be much admired for her political convictions. She caught pneumonia after having a leg amputated but insisted on going on a demonstration against the USA invasion of Guatemala. That effort was too much for her and she died. A simplistic version of events, but that makes her a great hero in my eyes who I need to find out more about.