Digital Showcase featuring Student Works Kahlo 2020 Exhibit

In celebration of the 2020 exhibit, the Cleve Carney Museum of Art (CCMA) and McAninch Arts Center (MAC) welcome area teachers to submit local student works that are inspired by Frida Kahlo to be on digital display during the exhibit: Frida Kahlo 2020, June 1- Aug. 31.

Teachers should submit student pieces that are inspired by Frida Kahlo and her works. Included is a listing of three pieces we suggest sharing and studying with students to use as inspiration for their own creation:  The Bus (1929)  Self Portrait with Small Monkey (1944)  The Mask (1945)

HOW TO SUBMIT Email Janey Sarther ([email protected]) for an invitation to Dropbox Link Art can be of any medium, but needs to be photographed and file labeled: SchoolName_StudentName_Grade.jpeg File must be jpg, and should have a minimum of 72 dpi

Note: All entries must be related to the exhibit, family friendly and include NO logos. It is our intent that all submissions will be included, but not a guarantee. The digital showcase will be on display during the Frida Kahlo exhibit in the ancillary areas of the MAC, as well as online through CCMA & MAC website. There is no guarantee for length or duration of work featured in the showcase.

About Frida Kahlo (1907 – 1954)

One of the most recognized artists of the 20th century, Frida Kahlo’s body of work continues to resonate with audiences today. Kahlo’s unique painting style reflects both the culture of her native and contemporary artistic trends of her time. Her work directly drew from all aspects of her turbulent and yet exceptional life, including being stricken with polio as a child, her complex marriage to the famed muralist, , complications surrounding childbirth, and her life-long pain and difficulties stemming from injuries she sustained in a bus accident at the age of 18. For the rest of her life, she suffered from this injury and had thirty-one operations. Frida Kahlo was also a cultural icon, recognized by her elaborate Tehuana clothing, stunning jewelry and hairstyles adorned with flowers – all of which allowed her to assert her Mexicanidad influenced by traditional Mexican culture. Kahlo was a contemporary of, and celebrated by, many of the most notable cultural figures of the 20th century including Lola Álvarez Bravo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, André Breton, Pablo Picasso, and Marcel Duchamp. Kahlo lived an outspoken life; her artwork, politics and relationships all existed in opposition to the cultural norms and expectations and she was, in many ways, ahead of her time. It is for this reason that she continues to be such an inspirational and relevant artist today, drawing attention from diverse audiences around the world.

Timeline/Key Events in Frida Kahlo’s life: http://theccma.org/whowasfrida

I started to paint…from the sheer boredom of being bedridden for a year, after an accident in which I fractured my spine, my foot, and other bones. I was sixteen then and was very keen on studying medicine. But the collision between a Coyacán bus and a Tlalpan streetcar put an end to that…Since I was young, this misfortune did not take on tragic dimensions: I had enough energy to do anything, but study to be a doctor. And without giving it much thought, I started to paint.

I don’t really know if my paintings are Surrealist or not, but I do know that they are the most honest expression of myself, without ever taking into consideration anyone’s criticisms or biases. I have painted only a little, without the least desire for glory and ambition, with the conviction, first and foremost, of pleasing myself and later being able to earn a living with my trade. From my trips, seeing and observing everything that I could, magnificent as well as very bad painting, I learned two positive things: always try and be myself as much as possible, and the bitter knowledge that many lives would not be enough to paint as and everything that I would like to. -Taken from Frida Kahlo I Portray Myself, exhibit catalogue

The Bus (1929)

Oil on canvas 26 x 55.5 cm Collection –

About the Painting Frida was in an accident in 1925 which took place on a similar bus. In this painting, Frida demonstrates her sympathy for various classes of Mexican society (L to R) housewife, blue-collar worker, Indian mother feeding her baby, little boy looking around, business man, and young girl – which might be Frida herself.

Things to think about: Each person in the painting has something special which makes them unique and helps us identify who they are. What are those items? What is something unique about you that you would include in a painting to reveal who you are?

Self-Portrait with Small Monkey (1945)

Oil on Masonite 56 x 41.5 cm Collection – Museo Dolores Olmedo

About the Painting: Frida loved animals. She had a Mexican hairless dog (breed Xoloitzcuintli – which dates back to the Aztecs), spider monkeys, a parrot, a fawn and an eagle. Her monkeys, she said, symbolized the children that she was never able to bear because of the injuries from the bus accident.

Things to think about: Many of Frida’s paintings are self-portraits – eight of her paintings include spider monkeys. Spider monkeys are used as symbols of protection. How does the inclusion of animals represent her nurturing side? The yellow ribbon loops all over the painting intertwining all the elements of her world - where does it start and where does it end? Notice the nail that connects them all.

The Mask (1945)

Oil on Canvas 40 x 30.5 cm Collection – Museo Dolores Olmedo

About the Painting: This self-portrait hides the real Frida behind a mask. This shows how Frida was sad that she had to hide her true emotions. In Mexico, masks are used to express thoughts, emotions, culture and beliefs, and are important in the Aztec culture.

Things to think about: Frida said, “I portray myself, because I am what I know the best.” Just like the indigenous Mexicans used masks to communicate during rituals, Frida is letting the mask do the crying that she felt she couldn’t. How do you hide and express your emotions? What mask do you wear the most?

Resources

Bernier-Grand, Carmen, T. Frida Viva la vida (Long Live Life!) New York: Amazon Publishing, 2007.

Frist Art Museum-Family Guide Meet Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Nashville, Tennessee, 2019.

Herrera, Hayden. Frida Kahlo: The Paintings New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993.

Museo Dolores Olmedo Exhibition catalogue Frida Kahlo: I Portray Myself. , Mexico, 2017.