Frida Kahlo – Ages 10 – Adult | Online Edition
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FRIDA KAHLO – AGES 10 – ADULT | ONLINE EDITION Step 1 - Introducing the Frida Kahlo Slideshow Guide MOTIVATION BEGIN READING HERE Have you ever kept a diary? What is a diary? (A JOURNAL, A PERSONAL RECORD OF EVENTS OR ACTIVITIES) Men and women commonly kept hand-written diaries in centuries past. Because diaries are private; we can often learn great truths about a person by reading their diary. During the last ten years of her life, our master artist, Frida Kahlo, kept a hand-written diary, which she illustrated with drawings in colored inks, pencil and watercolor. Click Start Lesson To Begin 1. PHOTO OF ARTIST’S DIARY The final entry in her diary near the time of her death shows a black, winged angel -- perhaps the angel of death. And Frida wrote: “I hope the exit is joyful -- and I hope never to come back -- Frida.” What do you think she meant by this statement? (ANSWERS WILL VARY) The fact is that Frida Kahlo loved the joys of life, but her life was so difficult, both physically and emotionally, that she did not want to “come back.” We’ll see how her paintings tell of her extraordinary life. Her paintings are like a diary. Let’s look at a photograph of Frida when she was a little girl. Click Next To Change Slide 2. PHOTO OF ARTIST - AGE 3 Frida was born in Mexico in a small town outside of Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. Her mother was Mexican. Her father was of German descent. He had immigrated to Mexico as a young man. Frida’s father was a professional photographer and took this picture of Frida at age three. Frida had three sisters. Her father seemed to have a special love for Frida. She was full of energy and very smart. He said of her, “She is the most like me.” When Frida caught polio at the age of six, her father helped her to recover by encouraging her to exercise and take part in sports activities. The polio left one leg weak, and it never grew properly. Children today do not get polio, because a vaccine is now available. She started elementary school late because of the polio, but she excelled enough to eventually qualify 1 FRIDA KAHLO – Ages 10 – Adult | MeetTheMasters Online Edition FRIDA KAHLO – AGES 10 – ADULT | ONLINE EDITION to attend the best high school in Mexico City. On her own, she started to study art history, and she took some art classes. But then, a terrible accident changed her life forever. In September of 1925, when she was only eighteen, Frida was riding in a bus, which was hit by a streetcar. She almost died from her injuries. Tragically, a pole went through her stomach area as she was thrown from the bus. When the rescue workers came to help all the injured passengers, they ignored her, because they thought she was already dead. She lay on the street with the pole inside her for almost an hour before someone noticed she was still breathing. Then they rushed her to the hospital where she managed to survive. After several months of being confined to bed, she began to paint. Now you’ll see a memory she painted four years after the accident. See if you can find Frida among the people. Click Next To Change Slide 3. THE BUS In this painting, we see a wide variety of people sitting on a bus -- from a businessman with his money bag to a barefoot mother, holding her baby wrapped in an orange REBOZO (ray-BO-zo) or shawl. (POINT OUT) Do you see a person who might be Frida? (THE YOUNG GIRL AT THE FAR RIGHT) Frida Kahlo remained a partial invalid throughout her life. She went on to have at least thirty-two corrective surgeries on her broken spine and right leg and foot over the next twenty-nine years of her life. After some operations, she wore a plaster body cast and was immobilized for weeks and could move only her arms and hands. She sometimes had to paint while lying down in bed. Her lifetime of paintings reflect the small triumphs and the great pain of her attempts to recover her health. And to her great sadness, she would never be able to have children. When she was well enough, Frida began to show her paintings to other artists. One of these artists was Diego Rivera (dee-AY-go ree-VAIR-ah), who liked her work and fell in love with Frida. They married when she was just twenty-two years old. Frida’s father was not happy about the marriage. He said it was like an elephant marrying a dove. Why would he say that? Well, here is the wedding portrait that Frida painted of herself and Diego Rivera. - Click Next To Change Slide 4. FRIDA AND DIEGO Who is the “elephant?” (DIEGO) Why? (HE IS BIG/FAT) Who is the “dove?” (FRIDA) Why? (SHE LOOKS LIKE SHE IS FLOATING LIKE THE DOVE ABOVE HER HEAD, HER EYEBROWS LIKE WINGS OF A DOVE) Diego Rivera was over six feet tall and weighed over 300 pounds. And tiny Frida adored him. After her marriage to Diego, she emphasized traditional Mexican culture in everything she did. She decorated their home 2 FRIDA KAHLO – Ages 10 – Adult | MeetTheMasters Online Edition FRIDA KAHLO – AGES 10 – ADULT | ONLINE EDITION with Mexican art and wore traditional Mexican clothing like Tehuana (tay-HWAH-nah) dresses, shawls, and jewelry. Let’s see how many details we can discover that show she was very proud of her Mexican HERITAGE. Let’s also discover her language and learn some of the Spanish words for the things we see painted here. Braided hair & ribbons: La Trenza (lah TREN-zuh) Dress: El Vestido (el ves-TEE-doe) Necklace: El Collar (el koh-LAHR) Shoes: Los Zapatos (los za-Pah-tohs) Shawl: El Rebozo (el ray-BO-zo) Let’s enjoy the beauty and pride in the Spanish language as Frida did and pronounce these words together. (REVIEW WORDS ABOVE) Now, let’s turn our attention to Diego, her husband. What is Diego Rivera wearing? (DARK BLUE SUIT, LIGHT BLUE SHIRT AND LARGE BELT WITH BROWN SHOES) Rivera is wearing American-style clothes. He holds his palette and brushes in his right hand, while his left hand delicately supports Frida’s hand. She portrays him as the artist, not herself. Why? (SHE LIVED TO SUPPORT HIM; SHE THOUGHT HE WAS A BETTER ARTIST; THIS WAS HIS PROFESSION; MEN WERE ARTISTS) Click Next To Change Slide 5. PHOTO OF FRIDA KAHLO After she married Diego, Frida traveled extensively in the United States and Europe. Diego Rivera was a famous mural painter who was in great demand. What is a MURAL? (PAINTING DONE ON A WALL OR CEILING, INSIDE OR OUTSIDE BUILDINGS) They lived for many months in San Francisco, New York, and Detroit while Diego worked on his murals. Frida walked the streets of these cities proudly wearing her Mexican dress. She would create quite a sensation as heads turned to stare at this attractive woman wearing such colorful dress. But Frida missed Mexico when they were in the United States. She showed how much in the next painting. - Click Next To Change Slide 6. SELF-PORTRAIT ON THE BORDER She is standing on the border between the two countries. What is she holding? (MEXICAN FLAG AND CIGARETTE) People were not aware yet during her lifetime of the negative affects of smoking. Does she make the United States’ side look like a desirable place to live? (NO) 3 FRIDA KAHLO – Ages 10 – Adult | MeetTheMasters Online Edition FRIDA KAHLO – AGES 10 – ADULT | ONLINE EDITION On the right side, in a narrow space, is her vision of the U.S. The flag is barely visible through the smoke belching out of the factory. Skyscrapers and machines, robot-like people, dominate the landscape. In the foreground, three machines radiate light and energy. All of them have electrical cords, one of which is plugged into Frida’s pedestal/stand. Does this seem like a pleasant place to live? (NOT TO FRIDA) What about the Mexico side? Notice how Frida has painted herself with her head turned toward the Mexico side of the painting. What do you see on the left? (ANSWERS WILL VARY) The Mexican side shows the sun shining its life-giving rays on the beautiful land and plants. She was proud of Mexico’s Indian history and painted an Aztec pyramid temple and some ancient sculptures. That kind of art is called PRE-COLUMBIAN, because it was made by the native civilizations before Christopher Columbus and other explorers discovered the New World. This painting shows us that Mexico represented life to Frida, and she longed to return. Did she show this longing in a dramatic, creative way? (YES) Click Next To Change Slide 7. PHOTO OF CASA AZUL (KAH-suh ah-ZOOL) Frida and Diego had quite a large collection of PRE-COLUMBIAN ART. They had sculptures all over the garden and house of Casa Azul, where Frida was born and lived most of her life. Can you translate Casa Azul? (BLUE HOUSE) It is now a museum and the house is still painted in the same bright blue. - Click Next To Change Slide 8. PHOTO OF FRIDA AND DIEGO AT CASA AZUL Today their collection of PRE-COLUMBIAN ART would be very valuable and would probably be displayed under glass in a museum to preserve it. Notice all the pieces just sitting outside! They also had a fun collection of animals: spider monkeys, parrots, a deer, and dogs.