Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) Frida Kahlo was a Mexican born painter who was best known for painting self-portraits and paintings inspired by nature and artifacts from her native country of Mexico. She is known for her work dealing with her own personal experiences of suffering from chronic pain. She was disabled by polio as a child and was horribly injured and almost died at the age of 18 when she was in a terrible bus accident. She was bedridden for many months and turned to painting to lift her spirits at that time. During her recovery her father installed a mirror on her ceiling which allowed her to paint self- portraits while still laying in bed. She later married the Mexican artist, Diego Rivera, who she loved deeply, and who loved her deeply. He encouraged her in her creative pursuits, but they had a tumultuous and complicated relationship due to his infidelity. Frida Kahlo was a fearless spirit who marched to the beat of her own drum as an artist. She worked relentlessly to be her own person, even though she often felt judged and misunderstood as a result. She struggled in her work as an artist to make a living, and to have her art recognized. She traveled extensively despite physical hardship, and shared her work with audiences in Mexico, various American cities, and in France.

I typed the portrait of Frida Kahlo because of her indomitable spirit and will to continue her art no matter how much she suffered both physical pain and emotional turmoil through being misunderstood throughout her life. At one point she wrote, “Why do I need these feet, when I have wings to fly”. Her creativity and imagination gave her the freedom to transcend her physical space and the physical and emotional pain that she felt.