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| Frida with the Monkey |
My introduction to Frida came through an arts lecture given by a Kahlo authority whose name I can’t recall. I was writing for an indie paper in a California college town and that was my feature assignment for the week. The lecture included a slide show of Kahlo’s works. I was intrigued, mesmerized—at times startled—by her art. I loved the colors, her style, the woman (Frida) as center of the universe.
Two words described her—No fear.
MEXICO CONNECTION
And then there was the Mexico connection—her flamboyant, indigenous clothing, her raven hair parted in the middle, pulled back in a tight bun or gloriously wild, the artsy jewelry. She appealed in all her gutsy wonder.
I was not alone. She appealed to everyone, though long had she lived in her husband’s shadow. By the 1970s, Frida was breaking out and breaking the mold. She was becoming—dare I say it—as popular as her famous husband, muralist and revolutionary, Diego Rivera.
PRESENTING FRIDA
Frida became an icon because the world was finally ready for her.
A strong woman who stood equally alongside an alpha male, years his junior, but as powerful in her way as he was in his. Rivera had encouraged her and mentored her. A star was born. Did she overshadow her husband? Who can determine which painter held more power? That so many Kahlo paintings were self-portraits, symbolized a different spirit. She had been through hell and back (maybe never back) first suffering through polio as a youngster and at 18 being hideously injured in a trolley/bus accident in Mexico City.
She wore a metal body brace her entire life. Her poor tortured frame would not allow her body to push out a baby and each time she got pregnant, not only did it not come to full term but her body suffered due to additional pressure on her lower torso. That did not stop her from portraying her suffering in her artwork for all the world to see. Suffering was the gateway to her art.
FRIDA AS ARTIST
Though she never carried a child full term, as artist, she pressed on. Years later in my bookstore in Puerto Morelos, Mexico, her paintings
hung front and center on the walls. My favorite was Frida in the jungle with the monkeys. Love you, Frida. You have been an icon for decades. Not only because of your oversized talent but also because of your staunch independence, your genius, your anarchistic politics, your free spirit, your shock value and your bravery. And because you resonated with a spirit that became a universal spirit. Thank you for the beauty and the pain you were not afraid to share. We love you Frida.
