Compare The Borderline Between Mexico And The United States By Frida Kahlo

Self-portrait on the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States was painted by Frida Kahlo, a Mexican self portrait artist in 1932 while being homesick as she accompanied her husband on his mission to paint murals in the United States. My first general impression of this painting is that it is very chaotic. On one side of the painting you can see machines with their cable lines buried into the ground, skyscrapers and smoke stacks while on the opposite side, flowers with their roots buried in the ground, figurines, what looks to be a pile of rock with cloud formations showing both sun and moon. This painting depicts representation for both Mexico, in which Kahlo is originally from and the United States, in which she was currently residing during the creation of this painting. Mexico is represented by the bright wild plants, flowers and cacti on one side, while the United States is represented with tall, dull colored buildings on the other side. The Mexican flag is held in her hand, while the United States flag is seen in the

background shadowed in grey and white smoke clouds produced from the industrial chimneys coming off one of the buildings. You can see the difference in depictions of both sides as the Mexican side delineates very terrestrial, natural and bright where the United States is portrayed dull, developed and polluted.
“I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best” (Kahlo).

This painting makes me think that Kahlo is thinking about the both sides of her life, her life that she new in Mexico and her life living in the United States with her husband. The picture shows Kahlo in the middle of both sides of the countries she is portraying as all the objects orbit around her. I feel this portrait shows her exploring her feelings and she may feel torn between the two countries. She wants to support her husband and may enjoy the big city as she can progress in her own art work as well, yet misses her earthly, natural home town. I think this portrait also shows her inner sorrows as she “desperately wanting to have a child, she again experienced heartbreak when she miscarried in 1934” (The Biography.com). We can see this from the dolls that lie next to her in “the juxtaposition suggesting the cycle of life and death”

(pbs.org).
I think the element of surrealism that we see in this painting is dominated by the inorganic, industrial, stereotypical big city. This is shown by tall buildings, machines requiring power and the smog and pollution from the smoke stacks. On the bottom right of the picture we can see what appears as three power operating machines with their cords buried into the earth. On the other hand we can see the element of indigenous is dominated by the organic vegetation and landscape that is exhibited with the flowers and plants. Both the surrealism and indigenous of this painting come together because you can see that she is torn between the two and how different she views both sides. This painting is divided in half by her. I think this painting is a true meaning of her inner feelings portrayed with her imagination.
As Kahlo pursued your own path in art, being married to a famous artist can have its advantages, but can also have its disadvantages. I believe that being married to a Diego Rivera could have affected her work because the attention all went to her famed muralist husband’s work verses her own. There may have been some that thought she was just attempting to follow in his lead and might not have taken the time to see her artistic side. I think this has affected her life in a way that she may have done things in support of him that she may not have wanted to do herself, as in move to the United States and possibly put her owns needs further down in her priorities. You can see the relevance in this painting to her position as a famous artist’s wife written on the block of concrete she is standing on which she inscribes her married last name.
I do agree that this piece of art is valuable and important. All works of art, including this piece, tell us a time line of history and captures emotions that occurred during the time it was being created. In the Self-portrait on the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States we can see Kahlo’s interpretation and feelings of the two countries she is torn between. Kahlo shows us the difference between both traditional and modern Mexican and American culture using all the different objects scattered around. She illustrates one nations relationship to the earth and the others connection to industrialism. I feel that we have understood a lot of Kahlo’s feeling from her Self-portrait on the borderline between Mexico and the Unites States.