I know that she is not a historical figure in the same way as some of the other women in this series, but she has had a tremendous impact on the feminist landscape nonetheless. I could give an extensive biography
of Frida Kahlo, but it would ultimately be a disservice to the artist. She
rejected the objective facts in search of her own truth, even going so far as
to ignore the year of birth on her birth certificate in favor of a date three
years after her actual birth. This wasn’t an instance of vanity in wanting to
appear younger but rather an expression of her identity being aligned with the
post-revolution Mexico.
We know Frida through her raw
self-portraits. She was unafraid to be vulnerable and live her truth. Of her
143 paintings, 55 were these self-portraits. The viewer was invited into her
pain, whether it be physical or psychological. She held nothing back. It takes
incredible strength to be that honest. So rather than relate the details of her
lifer, it is better to allow her work speak for itself.
The Broken Column, 1944
In 1925, Kahlo suffered extensive
injuries in a bus accident which would leave her in constant pain and render
her sterile. She painted this piece when her health was in a decline. In this work,
we see a nearly naked Kahlo, her spine visible as a broken column, her body
covered in nails and fitted with a surgical brace. Here the viewer is invited
into her physical pain as a result of the three displaced vertebrae from the
accident. Yet, we don’t see a face twisted in agony. When I look at this work,
I see the pain that must be underneath but the lack of emotion is a reminder
that not all wounds are visible. Even physical injury leaves invisible
scars.
It speaks to a greater issue when we
talk about how women are treated in the medical profession. The way that women
are treated for chronic pain has been a hot topic of late. The Girl Who Cried Pain: A Bias Against Women in the
Treatment of Pain
Fulang-Chang and I, 1937
I had the chance to see this
portrait at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC about 6 years ago. It was striking
in its presentation. However, its impact is less about the portrait itself but
rather the accompanying piece. This painting was originally a single portrait.
When Frida gifted the piece to Mary Sklar, she included a mirror that is framed
as the portrait is. The idea behind the mirror was so that Sklar and Frida
could always be together despite the physical distance. Yet, as part of the
gallery, the mirror now invites the viewer into Frida’s world. Despite a lack
of physical proximity, in our moment of observation of the piece, we have
become part of the art. It’s a beautiful sentiment.
When
you look at the work of Kahlo, it is celebration not only of her heritage with
its folk art themes but also of feminine beauty in all of its forms. Beauty is
in the imperfections. This is why we see Frida with her now signature
unibrow. By standards of today or even
of her time, she would not have been considered a great beauty, but she reveled
in her beauty all the same. She defied conventions of the time while still
drawing inspiration from them.
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