table of contents

TOPIC                                                                                                                                               PAGES

Introduction                                                                                                                                             1

Biography & Timeline                                                                                                                           2-5 

My Figure’s Influence on me                                                                                                                  6-8

Interview                                                                                                                                               7-10   

Reflective Writing                                                                                                                                11-12

Biobliography                                                                                                                                            13

Appendix                                                                                                                                              14-27  

Introduction

Throughout history, there have been people who have influenced the way we live. Frida Kahlo is one of this people.

I chose to prepare this research project on Frida Kahlo for several reasons .To begin with, I was told about her and her art since I was a little girl. My mom has always been a fan of her and her art and has told me interesting important events that happened in Frida’s life and how she became an artist. She inspired me with her passion, confidence and the power she has. She always did what she wanted without being afraid to be judged.

There are number of things that I already know about Frida Kahlo, Firstly, I know that she was a Communist Mexican artist who fought for equality in her country. In addition, I know that she was in a car accident which led her to be unable to walk for a long period of time and that led her to discover her art skills.

I expect to learn new interesting things about Frida Kahlo. First and foremost, I expect to find out about her early life, where she grew up and in what conditions. Also, I want to learn  about her recovery story and what led her to paint in her specific style. Finally, I would like to discover what she did to fight against the Mexican government to earn the equal rights.

Frida Kahlo has left her mark on the world. I am looking forward to finding out more about her.

Biography + Time Line

Kahlo was born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón on July 6, 1907, in Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico.

Kahlo’s father, Wilhelm (also called Guillermo), was a German jewish photographer who had immigrated to Mexico where he met and married her mother Matilde. She had two older sisters, Matilde and Adriana, and her younger sister, Cristina, was born the year after Kahlo.

Around the age of six, Kahlo developed Polio, which caused her to lie down in bed without too much movement for nine months. While she recovered from the illness, she struggled to walk because the disease had damaged her right leg and foot. Her father encouraged her to play soccer, go swimming, and even wrestle, highly unusual moves for a girl at the time to help in her recovery.

In 1922, Kahlo enrolled at the well known National Preparatory School. She was one of the few female students to attend the school, and she became known for her joyful spirit and her love of colorful, traditional clothes and jewelry.

While at school, Kahlo hung out with a group of politically and intellectually like-minded students. Becoming more politically active, Kahlo joined the Young Communist League and the Mexican Communist Party.

On September 17, 1925, Kahlo and Alejandro Gómez Arias, her  boyfriend she met at school, were traveling together on a bus when the bus crashed into a car. As a result of the crash, Kahlo was stabbed by a steel handrail, which went into her hip and came out the other side. She suffered several serious injuries as a result, including few break damages in her spine and pelvis.

After staying at the Red Cross Hospital in Mexico City for several weeks, Kahlo returned home to recover further. She began painting during her recovery and finished her first self-portrait the following year, which she gave to Gómez Arias (who was a politician).

In 1929, Kahlo and the famous Mexican wall painter Diego Rivera got married. Kahlo and Rivera first met in 1922 when he went to work on a project at her high school. Kahlo often watched as Rivera created a wall painting called “the creation” in the school’s lecture hall.

Kahlo reconnected with Rivera in 1928. He encouraged her artwork, and the two began a relationship. During their early years together, Kahlo often followed Rivera based on where the commissions that Rivera received were. In 1930, they lived in San Francisco, California. They then went to New York City for Rivera’s show at the Museum of Modern Art and later moved to Detroit for Rivera’s commission with the Detroit Institute of Arts

Kahlo and Rivera kept separate, but adjoining homes and studios in San Angel. She was in pain by his many betrayals, including an affair with her sister Cristina. In response to this familial betrayal, Kahlo cut off most of her brand long dark hair. Desperately wanting to have a child, she again experienced heartbreak when she miscarried in 1934.

Kahlo and Rivera went through periods of separation, but they joined together to help divorced Soviet communist Leon Trotsky and his wife Natalia in 1937. The Trotskys came to stay with them at the Blue House (Kahlo’s childhood home) for a time in 1937 as Trotsky had received shelter in Mexico. Once a enemy of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Trotsky feared that he would be assassinated by his old revenge.

Kahlo divorced Rivera in 1939. They did not stay divorced for long, remarrying in 1940. The couple continued to lead largely separate lives, both becoming involved with other people over the years.

While she never considered herself a surrealist, Kahlo helped one of the major figures in that artistic and literary movement, Andre Breton, in 1938. That same year, she had a major show at a New York City gallery, selling about half of the 25 paintings shown there. Kahlo also

received two commissions, including one from famed magazine editor Clare Boothe Luce, as a result of the show.

In 1939, Kahlo went to live in Paris for a time. There she exhibited some of her paintings and developed friendships with such artists as Marcel Duchamp and Pablo Picasso.

Kahlo received a commission from the Mexican government for five portraits of important Mexican women in 1941, but she was unable to finish the project. She lost her beloved father that year and continued to suffer from chronic health problems. Despite her personal challenges, her work continued to grow in popularity and was included in numerous group shows around this time.

In 1953, Kahlo received her first solo exhibition in Mexico. While stuck in bed at the time, Kahlo did not miss out on the exhibition’s opening. Arriving by ambulance, Kahlo spent the evening talking and celebrating with the event’s attendees from the comfort of a four-poster bed set up in the gallery just for her.

About a week after her 47^th birthday, Kahlo died on July 13, 1954, at her beloved Blue House. There has been some supposition regarding the nature of her death. It was reported to be caused by a pulmonary embolism, but there have also been stories about a possible suicide.

After Kahlo’s death, the feminist movement of the 1970s led to renewed interest in her life and work, as Kahlo was viewed by many as an icon of female creativity.

Time Line

1907-Kahlo was born

1922- enrolled to National Preparatory School

1925- got into a car crash

1929- Kahlo and Diego Rivera got married

1930- Kahlo lived San Francisco, California and got cheated on

1934- Kahlo miscarried

1939- Kahlo divorced Rivera and exhibited some of her paintings and developed friendships with such artists as Marcel Duchamp and Pablo Picasso in Paris.

1953- Kahlo received her first solo exhibition in Mexico

1954- Kahlo died

Tree of Hope, Remain Strong, 1946 by Frida Kahlo

After Frida returned to Mexico from the United States, she had  to stay in bed for a while and then wearing a steel corset for eight months. But her health condition worsed instead of improving. She got sharp pains in her spine and lost her appetite due to the long-lasting pain. But she still paint ed and in a letter she wrote to her friend, she mentioned this painting, Tree of Hope, 1946 as “nothing but the result of the damned operation!” In this painting, under the dark sky, the sun and moon divided the background into two halves of light and dark. In the middle, Frida is sitting there and crying in a red Tehuana costume. Nevertheless she seems strong and confident. Behind her on a hospital trolley, lying a second Frida, who is got put to sleep and her surgical cuts still open and dripping with blood. Frida is holding a pink orthopedic corset while sitting in the wooden chair. On her other hand, she is holding a flag which has words from a song “”Cielito Lindo” – “Tree of Hope, Remain Strong.” On the flagpole, there is a red tip that looks like a surgical instrument stained with blood, or a paintbrush dipped in red paint. The dry landscape behind her has two cracks which is metaphor of the wounds on her back.  Frida painted this painting for her supporter Eduardo Morillo Safa. In a letter to him, Frida mentioned: “There is a skeleton (or death) that runs away in the face of my will to live.” But she later removed the skeleton to please Eduardo. But she cannot eliminate the threat of death. In this portrait, by putting two  of Frida’s images together, one is a victim of the botched tragedy, the other is the heroic survivor, Frida used it as an act of faith. Frida takes charge of her destiny and becomes her own saver

and hero.

I am really connected with that painting because it gives me strength and hope. Even though Frida got into a really bad accident and could have died from  it and could have lost hope,  she kept discovering her talent and kept drawing considering her bad well being and the struggles to  even move. She drew her feelings and the process from being in a really bad place to a state where she passed the weaknesses and started to be fully confident all over again. We can see in the drawing that the left side has the cracks that resemble the wounds and the pain that she had, and on the right side she is completely h ealed but the cracks are still there, meaning that even though the event is already behind her but the memories and the trauma is still there. She is a strong woman who just went forward and had to built herself up all over again .  

Most of her drawings are self portraits. The self confidence and the free will to do as she wishes to without being self conscious, embarrassed, afraid to be judged or having less options and opportunities just because of being a woman in that period of time. I really admire this woman and her power and confidence. Her drawings can express her lifetime and emotions which she mostly puts herself in a middle of every situation. 

Interview

I decided to interview an Israeli artist ,  the artists name is Gila Cohen. She lives in Tel Aviv and makes a living from making jewelry and beautiful paintings.  She  mostly paints Frida Kahlo and has a special  connection to her, her work and lifestyle.

I decided to search for people who mostly come from the artsy side and paint Frida’s paintings so they can relate to her more.

1. What’s so special about Frida Kahlo’s paintings in your opinion?

Answer: I think what is so special about her paintings is how she expresses her feelings and inner individuals through objects. It appears that every object in her paintings is a symbol of a life experience and expressing a life of its own. Every little drip on a canvas has its own meaning.  paintings convey expressions and show the deep world of an artist- full of pain, stress, happiness, sadness, anger and more.

2. What do you think about Frida Kahlo as a person?

Answer: She is a free independent person. She always felt free to express herself and always had her own opinion without fearing others judgment. Those kind of independent thoughts appeared in her paintings.

3. People say that most of her paintings are sad. What do you think?

Answer: The peak of her creativity came from the period where she was at the hospital after the accident. That is why most of her paintings appeared to be sad. Those paintings are self-expressions of pain and suffering. On the other hand her suffering was the steps for her to get over the past and led her to her stronger self. Thanks to those paintings she could view the world differently from the inside and outside.

4. Do you know any facts about Frida’s personal life?

Answer: Frida had different political views but she always was a Communist. She adopted the communist side from her husband Diego Rivera. In her house she hid the Russian politician Lev Trotski whom she had an affair with.  At the time of the  affair Frida was married and so as Lev.

5. What is your Frida Kahlo’s favorite painting?

Answer: the painting- “Thinking about death”. This painting has multiple meanings. From one side she has at the center of her forehead a skull that resembles the end of existence.  The skull is located in the middle of her forehead because it was the center of her thoughts. But if you look at the background we can see the green lea  as a symbol of life and growth. That’s why the painting shows the deep philosophical meaning that contains life and death- the beginning and the end.

6. Do you think Frida Kahlo acted like an average woman in her life period?

Answer: Frida always was an interesting woman with a lot of confidence. She had her own opinion and never counted on men  opinion like most of women in her time did. She was a feminist with an open and accepting mind about sexualities. She was never afraid of expressing her spontaneous and unusual thoughts in public. She basically “was acting like a man” in her time period.

7. Did Frida Kahlo inspire you in any some type of way?

Answer: Yes, When I look at her paintings I get inspiration of an the energetic and philosophic power, through her life experience, positivity and confidence.

8. What do you think about the way she dressed?

Answer: Her outfits expressed the Mexican tradition. I really like her ethnic looks and her individual interpretation.

https://youtu.be/HCXxsd-BKLY

Reflection

I found the preparation of this project worthwhile for several reasons

First of all, I learned a lot about the person I was doing the project about (Frida Kahlo). She was such an interesting person who experienced a lot in her life and I think she is really worthwhile learning about. Moreover, I think this project was very fun for me to make since I really wanted to learn about this person. She is so inspirational and I really relate to most of her opinions.  This is why I never got bored doing this project. Furthermore, I think the project was worthwhile because  I learned many new things such as art styles and artists. In addition, I enjoyed doing this project alone because it made me discover more responsibility and realize that it is easier to count on myself to complete the project than on other people. Especially when I feel a sense of identification to this person so I’d rather do it alone.

I learned many things while working on the project such as

Firstly, I learned about Frida Kahlo’s life- Her childhood and family, the accidents she has been through, her political opinions and acts, her romantic relationships, famous people she was friends with, the story meaning and styles behind her paintings, how she got to the industry of art and her death. Also, I found out about new art styles such as- Surrealism, Symbolism and Magical realism. Furthermore, I learned about New well known people such as- Leon Trotsky, Georgia O’Keeffe and Diego Rivera. In addition, native Mexican old fashion.

I developed a number of skills during my work on this project like

Firstly, I developed skills like reading and summarizing the useful and accurate information on the internet.  Secondly, I developed a skill of knowing exactly what information do I need to search on the internet. In addition, it really helped me translating new words that enriching my English even more.

I enjoyed working alone for a number of reasons, Firstly, I enjoyed working alone because I didn’t have to depend on anyone else to complete the project. Moreover, I’m glad I worked alone since I didn’t have to argue about who are we going to do the project about or what things should we write down or not. Furthermore, I was happy Doing the project alone because it made me realize that I should only count on myself which I think it is a wonderful thing to realize. In addition I had fun doing this project alone because I picked a person that I really relate to and really want to learn new things about. Doing it with another person would have probably made me learn less information about this person.

On the one hand, there were things I enjoyed while preparing this project like firstly, I enjoyed learning new interesting things about the artist and the art itself. Secondly, It was fun when I was editing the presentation and presenting it to the class ( even though I was nervous I actually enjoyed presenting it, especially about the person I’m so interested about).

On the other hand, there were things I enjoyed less while working on the project Firstly, I didn’t like trying to find whom to interview.It took me a lot of time to find a person who actually wants and has the time to interview. Furthermore, I less enjoyed finding time to complete some of the project tasks because I had a lot of other things to do in school and beyond school so it pressured me a little bit.

In conclusion, I am grateful that I had the opportunity to prepare this project because beyond the fact that it was interesting and enriching my knowledge, it was actually really fun and inspiring to prepare. Doing it about a person that you always wanted to know about and finding out how much of an icon this person was, made it a hundred times better. Especially when you really admire and relate to this person.

Bibliography

Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo

Britannica – https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frida-Kahlo

Frida Kahlo Paintings, Biography, Quotes – https://www.fridakahlo.org/

Denver art museum – https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/exhibitions/frida-kahlo-diego-rivera-and-mexican-modernism

APPENDIX

Drafts:

Introduction by Alin Arbitman

Throughout history, there have been people who have influenced the way we live. Frida Kahlo is one of this people. I chose to prepare this research project on Frida Kahlo for several reasons.To begin with, I was told about her and her art since I was a little girl. My mom always has been a fan of her and her art and was telling me interesting important events that happened in Frida’s life and how she became an artist. She inspired me with her passion, confidence and the power she has. She always did what she wanted without being afraid to be judged. There are number of things that I already know about Frida Kahlo Firstly, I know that she was a Communist Mexican artist who was fighting for equality in her country. In addition, I know that she was in a car accident which led her to be unable to walk for a long period of time, and that led her to discover her art skills. I expect to learn new interesting things about Frida Kahlo. First and foremost, I expect to find out about her early life, where she grew up, in what conditions. Also, I want to learn  about her recovery story and what led her to paint in her specific style. Finally, I would like to discover what she did to fight against the Mexican government to earn the equal rights. Frida Kahlo has left her mark on the world . I am looking forward to finding out more about her.