For more info about the artist, see: Frida Kahlo↗ (1907-1954).
above: Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress. 1926. Oil on Canvas.
above: Self-Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States. 1932. Oil on Metal
above: What I Saw in the Water (What the Water Gave Me). 1938. Oil on Canvas.
above: The Broken Column. 1944. Oil on Canvas.
There is a biography: “Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo” by Hayden Herrera, 2002. (amazon.com↗) There is also a movie Frida directed by Julie Taymor↗, 2003. (amazon.com↗) Mexican actress Salma Hayek↗ starring the artist.
The above image is the cover for the book featuring Salma from the movie. Note that Frida has painted lots of self-portraits, but the book cover has to use a actress instead. What degree of insult is this? It is that way because it sells, and selling is important because the social structure of capitalism. And, it sells that way because in part people are ignorant, that they need movies for their awareness of historical figures. The other reason, is because the size and structure of modern society, where no amount of education can we expect most people to know most of the important historical figures. There are too many, too big.
The use of a movie to sell a biography can only be temporal. The immortality of a artist lies in her work along.
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Page created: 2005-04. © 2005 by Xah Lee. (excluding mirrored pages or images.)