FRIDA

What points do you find especially pertinent? Do you agree with their assessments of "Fridamania"? Why do you think Frida Kahlo suddenly became so popular--popular enough to generate a whole "Frida industry" and a major motion picture?


The point that I find most pertinent is in The Trouble with Frida Kahlo article where John Berger writes “under the new world order, the sharing of pain is one of the essential preconditions for a refining of dignity and hope.” Viewers react to Kahlo’s work. Although Kahlo thought she was in a world, alone where no one understood her, everyone at some point in their life feels like this. Everyone in some form or another has demons that they have to deal with whether one admits it or not. Frida, allowed the people to reflect on their own suffering and think about the silent pain that they feel. This theme is also seen in the Frida Icon article where Joy Press states, “a feeling of abandonment and separation and disconnectedness runs all the way through her work.” When looking at one of Frida’s paintings, such as her self portraits or Henry Ford Hospital, she always pictures herself alone. In the hospital painting, Kahlo deals with her quiet suffering of loosing a child through miscarriage. She is virtually made to feel worthless because she is a woman who cannot child bear and no one can relate to her suffering in this situation beside herself. When the audience looks at the painting, we instantly can connect because we all experience a form of quiet suffering in our lives, having no one to turn to, and feeling separated from society in our experiences.
Another point that I find relevant to Fridamania is Frida’s strength. She is a unique role model for society. By examining situations in her life, we can better understand what it is to suffer and how we experience it in our own lives. Frida was turned herself from a victim into a survivor through her artwork. Frida is also seen as an icon in modern day society because she addresses issues that are still pertinent today. Some of these issues being: feminism, gender roles, sexual identity, adultery and pain/suffering.
Frida was a woman to admire, she did what the boys did, which was uncommon at this time. She had her own style, she made a living off of her own artwork without a man, and she dealt with her pain through a positive outlet, art. She became the subject of her own art, and it is a very empowering statement, I do agree with the Frida Icon article, why shouldn’t we look up to a person who made such an impact on social and political issues? It may be crazy to purchase small tokens with her images and name on them, but one should look up to and respect Frida, her values and what she stood for. I like how The Trouble With Frida Kahlo article laid out their thoughts on Frida Kahlo; At first the article starts off making fun of Kahlo and her facial hair, but then dives into her history and prominent moments in her life.
Frida wasn’t popular in her time because she was a woman artist addressing issues that made people feel uncomfortable. The issues that she addressed were not things that women should be expressing in this era. A woman was supposed to sit back, clean the house and take care of their families. The reason Frida became so popular is because people can relate to her, not in the sense of miscarriages and a woman scorned, but in the sense of pain and suffering. Women all over can relate to her as well in the sense that we want equal rights and to be treated fairly in our society.