The Inspiration of Frida Kahlo

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Some people become artists for the pleasure, but others might have an ability to perceive art in a deeper sense than what is being presented. Artists like Diego Velázquez, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Sandro Botticelli could actually see the essence of art which motivated them to give the world a canvas of questionable knowledge. Later another artist emerged with the same ability, Frida Kahlo. She used her life as her canvas; allowed people to view the world from behind the surrealistic doors. In addition, she was able to present self-portraits in many forms, all influenced by a tragic bus accident which led to a broken spine that affected her whole life. Described mostly in the film Frida directed by Julie Taymor, and the book Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo written by Hayden Herrera, Kahlo’s portraits made viewers see not just her life, but into themselves as well. Motivated by tragic events such as her physical condition, an inability to bear children, and her life with Diego Rivera, Frida was the world of art in human flesh.

The scene of Frida’s tragic accident had a suspenseful atmosphere. The accident occurred on Sep. 17, 1925 while aboard a bus. She was eighteen and rushed to board a bus with her boyfriend, Alejandro Gomez Arias. They made it just in time, and boarded. The trolley took off turning curves with tremendous speed. Another bus was moving slowly in front. The two caught up together, and collided. Everything moved slowly, glass shattered, and she was implanted into the floor board with a pipe rail going through her pelvis, and out of the mid-section of her back.

Frida was operated on and confined to a bed for many months, and starts to painting. She would later paint one of her most famous paintin...

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...ahlo was phenomenal and continues to be an icon in her own right.

Works Cited

Ciabattari, Jane. "The Wages of Pain." The Threepenny Review 1.16 (1984): 20-21. JSTOR. The Threepenny Review. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. .

Comisarenco, Dina. "Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Tiazolteotl." Woman's Art Journal 25.2 (1996): 21-24. JSTOR. Woman's Art, Inc. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. .

Frida. Dir. Julie Taymor. Perf. . Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Antonio Banderas, and Valeria Golino. Miramax Home Entertainment, 2002. DVD.

Herrera, Hayden. Frida, a Biography of Frida Kahlo. New York: Perennial, 2002. Print.

Udall, Sharyn R. "Frida Kahlo's Body: History, Identity, and Artistic Aspiration." Woman's Art Journal 24.2 (2004): 10-14. JSTOR. Woman's Art, Inc. Web. 24 Feb. 2010. .

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