A Mexican Artist with flowers in her hair, mischief in her eyes and a bridging unibrow she adorned with pride, meet Frida Kahlo, the woman, the myth, the legend, whose life was as grand and vivid as her self-portraits.
Frida is celebrated as a Feminist goddess, a great Artist and a visionary but a lot about her life, that inspired her art, remains undiscovered.
“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me, too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you.”
Young Frida, much like the Artist that we know and love, did not fit the stereotypical mold of a girl set by the oppressive Mexican society of the 20th Century. She was free-spirited, wild, curious, goofy and everything a proper girl wasn’t supposed to be. Being the darling daughter favoured by her father, she was adored and loved unconditionally by him. However, she was a bright child who endured excruciating physical pain and ailment throughout her life.
“Feet, what do I need them for, If I have wings to fly.”
At the young age of six, Frida contracted polio, which hindered her growth. She recovered from it after nine months of monitored bed rest but the polio left her with a slightly under-developed right leg. But this wild child of destiny never let it stop her life. She excelled at all kinds of sports despite everything. Polio wasn’t the only boulder she faced in her lifetime though, at 18 she got into a life threatening automobile accident. The accident shattered her collarbone, spine and fractured her foot. People didn’t think Frida could make out of this incident alive, but she did. The crippling pain and spinal injury left her bed ridden with years of recovery to come. It was then her dalliance with painting and art began.
Her paintings manifest the excruciating physical pain Frida experienced throughout her life. They are a mirror to her emotional turbulence and life experiences. Art also introduced Frida to the love of her life, Diego Rivera.
“There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the train the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst.”
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