Frida Kahlo - In dealing with Memory and Dream

Frida Kahlo

"The Bus" (1929), Frida Kahlo.

This painting of Frida's is in memory of the day in which she had a tragic accident on a bus that changed her life forever. This event would greatly disfigure her, and would become a recurring element within her paintings forever. Pain would become a major theme in her works and part of what makes her work so effecting.

"The Broken Collumn" (1944), Frida Kahlo.

This painting is one of my favorites of Frida's. Towards the end of her life her paintings became focused on her physical and psychological pain. In this painting she paints herself to mirror her background landscape, as being broken, barren, and fractured. This is one of the few paintings in which she portrays herself in complete isolation, without the comfort of her usual animals, plants, etc. This isolation mirrors the nature of the landscape. The harshness of the landscape show how vulnerable the softer aspects of her are in that environment. I love the lack of subtlety in her painting. She has an unflinching ability to lay everything out in the open, with complete honesty at the backbone of her work. This shows a certain vulnerability in her work which in turn becomes a strength. I love the variety of texture within this painting. Hair skin and fabrics are smooth, while terrain is comprised of varied and broken textures. Painted nails and pins suggest hard and sharp metal elements. The sky is dark and stormy. This lighting appears interpretive and dark, emulating depression / desperation.

"Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird" (1940), Frida Kahlo.

In this painting we can see a sharp contrast to the painting before in that despite her somber gaze, Frida is surrounded by the comforts of her home. Her animals surrounding her in a protective nature, leaving her not alone. The lush background sharply contrasts that of the barren landscape from "The Broken Column". Although surrounded by friendlier elements, Frida's theme of pain shows through. The thorns around her neck are piercing her skin, drawing blood. There is a hummingbird hanging from her collar. Birds are often meant to represent freedom, yet in this painting she has depicted it black and lifeless, and it comes across as perhaps a symbol of herself. Lacking freedom and restricted by her own physical pain and suffering. This is a beautiful painting to me. I love the use of subtle color, and particularly the deep black elements. I like the way she has used lots of black with highlighting elements of a soft blue, in the sky and on the animals as well. The use of softer more natural yellows and greens work really nicely together here as well. I could see myself drawing inspiration from this painting in the use of color.

"The Bed" (1940), Frida Kahlo.

I find this painting particularly interesting as it explores the topic of dreams. This is a subject I find fascinating, and intrinsically linked to the topic of memory. Dreams belong in our subconscious mind, where a great deal of memory lies. This painting also explores death as a theme, using the skeleton to represent mortality. Sleep, dreams and death are intertwined in this painting. The skeleton, lying awake, is wrapped with explosives and according to Frida is meant to be an "amusing reminder of mortality". I quite like the use of the skeleton in this painting and do find it to be of a morbid humor. I think its important to remember humor when approaching art sometimes, and I'd like to carry this with me in my own work. I love the soft and dreamlike background of the painting which appears to make the bed look as though it is floating in the clouds, appointing a strong surrealist connotation. I love the colors here as well, the use on golden yellows and oranges with the grays and purples work really well in this.