One of over 200 photos of the collection. "Nada vale mas que la risa." Frida Kahlo "Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light. Tragedy is the most ridiculous thing.” Frida Kahlo Frida Kahlo’s bed is probably the most iconic piece of furniture in her house. Frida painted her bed (in “The Dream” or “The Bed”, 1940, Painting #76) and appeared on it at her first and last solo exhibition in Mexico City. She even died in the same bed. In Julie Taymor’s 2002 film “Frida”, the bed is used as a recurring theme associated with the artist. The canopy bed with ceiling mirror presented in the Frida Kahlo Exhibition has been meticulously reproduced in size and materials and the reconstuction of her bedroom includes a variety of photographs that adorned her walls. These photographs are an interesting representation of Frida’s personal and political beliefs. One photo displays the portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao and is of particular historical interest as it illustrates Frida Kahlo political convictions. Numerous photographs document Frida Kahlo in her bedroom over the years; this has allowed the Curators of the exhiition to faithfully reproduce a section of her bedroom as it was when Frida Kahlo lived in the Blue House. This includes a gold watch hanging from her bed, the Amuzco embroidered bedcover, books, colored glass beads, small Maya sculpture and Mexican handicraft works. "They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn't. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality." Frida Kahlo Photo: Paris, March 1939, Surrealist exhibition „Mexique“ at the "Pierre Colle" - gallery; Photographer: Unknown Painting: Frida Kahlo, What I Saw in the Water, 1938 by Frida Kahlo/ ©Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust At the beginning of 1939 Frida Kahlo was in Paris, France for the exhibition "Mexique" which presented artworks of Mexican artists: photographs, paintings and sculptures. From Paris she wrote the following about the artists around her: "They are so damn “intellectual” and rotten that I can’t stand them anymore….I would rather sit on the floor in the market of Toluca and sell tortillas, than have anything to do with those “artistic” bitches of Paris. They sit for hours on the “cafés” warming their precious behinds, and talk without stopping about “culture” “art” “revolution” and so on and so forth, thinking themselves the gods of the world, dreaming the most fantastic nonsense, and poisoning the air with theories and theories that never come true. Next morning they don’t have anything to eat in their house because none of them work and they live as parasites of the bunch of rich bitches who admire their “genius” of “Artists”, Shit and only shit is what they are. I never seen Diego or you wasting their time on stupid gossip and “intelectual” discussions. That is why you are real men and not lousy “artists”- Gee weez!!." From a letter Frida Kahlo wrote to Nickolas Muray on February 16,1939. Frida’s father was born in Germany, in 1890 at the age of 19 he immigrated to Mexico. In 1895, when he was 24 years old, he married for the first time: Maria Cardena. They had two daughters: Maria Luisa and Margarita. In 1898, the night Wilhelm’s wife died giving birth to their third child, he asked Antonio Calderón for his daughter Matilde’s hand in marriage. Matilde would be the future mother of Frida and her sisters. Six months later Wilhelm and Matilde were married. After the wedding, Kahlo sent his daughters from the first marriage away to be raised in a covent, Maria Luisa was three years old and Margarita was 6 months old. Frida and her sisters had little contacts with their two half-sisters in their early childhood; only later in their lives they built a relationship with Maria Luisa and Margarita. Photos showing Wilhelm Kahlo with the two daughters from his first marriage are extremely rare, and they were taken only in the last years of his life. The other night my boyfriend came into my bedroom through the window because my parents do not want him, but suddenly they came because they heard our noise. I dedicate this to San Ramón Nonato who made the miracle that they did not realize that my boyfriend was hiding behind the bed and believed the story that it was my cat that made the noise. Salazar Luiciana, Tamaulipas 1940 La otra noche mi novio entró a mi recamara por la ventana porque mis papás no lo quieren pero de repente ellos entraron porque escucharon nuestros ruidos. Dedico este retablito a San Ramón Nonato porque me hizo el milagro de que ellos no se dieran cuenta que mi novio estaba escondido detras de la cama y se creyeron el cuento que era mi gatito el que hizo ruidos. Luiciana Salazar, Tamaulipas 1940 Frida Kahlo & Ex-Voto Painting Culture in Mexico Ex-Voto is a Spanish word meaning “votive offering”. "Ex-Voto" paintings are Catholic religious paintings that became very popular in the Mexican religious culture in the 19th century. They are usually small: 30 x 20 cm and painted mostly on wood or metal. Ex-Votos are images offered to a saint or the Madonna as a thank you for an answered prayer. In most cases, the Ex-Voto is signed by the supplicant and dated, and explains why the giver is giving thanks. In many cases, they tell a very touching personal story which is why they are so fascinating. The Ex-Voto is most often left at a church altar. They are very public, yet very personal, professions of faith in God and thanks for favors received. The most common reason for thanks is health, with many Ex-Votos dedicated after operations. Survival of accidents is another reason, but almost any subject is sufficient to justify creating one, from finding a missing farm animal to helping to find a spouse. The tradition of votive painting was brought to the Mexico by Spanish conquerors. At the end of the 18th century, tin plate became widely available in Mexico and thus, Mexican folk painters discovered a new surface medium for their paintings. Because tinplate was so cheap, the practice of offering votive paintings to Jesus, Mary or one’s favorite saint became very common in Mexico, Ex-Votos are a wonderful and unique expression of Mexican culture. "Ex-Voto" paintings include three elements: 1) a scene illustrating a tragedy or someone with a grave illness or injury; 2) a Saint or martyr that intervened to save the person, and 3) the description of the event usually at the bottom of the Ex-Voto. Frida Kahlo and Diego Riveras had a collection of more than 1000 Ex-Votos which can be seen in the Blue House in Mexico City. We can see the influence of the "Ex-Voto" style of painting in some of Frida's works. Frida would often take elements from these votive paintings to create her own style of Ex-Voto in her paintings. The Ex-Voto (Frida called it “Retablo”) Nr. 70 in the exhibition is an example of an Ex-Voto Frida bought because it resembled her own tragic bus accident of 1925, then painted her own head (with the famous uni-brow) over the Ex-Voto, and changed the name of the destination of the bus “Coyoacan” Frida Kahlo paintings "My Birth" Nr.34, "My Nanny and I" Nr. 47 and "The Suicide of Dorothy Hale" Nr. 63 are typical examples of Frida style Ex-Voto. Paintings left to right: # 34: My Birth, 1932, # 47: My Nurse and I, 1937, # 63: The Suicide of Dorothy Hale, 1938-39 licensed replica: ©Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2008 Frida Kahlo painted " A few small Nips" in 1935 to illustrate her feelings towards her husband affair with her sister Cristina. The painting in essence illustrates how easily and lightly Diego mortally hurt her. In the painting the injuries are physically deadly, in Frida's case the mortal pain is emotional (“I have been murdered by life” wrote Frida in one of her letters.) The painting also shows how this deadly pain inflicted is considered, by the perpetrator (i.e. Diego) irrelevant, not important, just “a few small nips”. We know that Frida Kahlo often worked on her paintings over the years, adding items and always strengthening her statement. “A Few Small Nips” is an example of this development which we can follow from the photos taken between 1935 and 1948 since she kept this painting in her Blue House. Painting: Frida Kahlo, A few small Nips, 1935; Licensed replica: ©Banco de Mexico Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2008. Originally the painting had a normal wooden frame in brown colour and few blood spots; over time she added a small bamboo bird cage on the top left, to match exactly the white dove, which now is inside the cage. As we see from the photo and the reconstruction we made of the cage in the painting, the door of the cage is slightly open but not enough to allow the dove to fly away and be free. This imagery of being prisoner of her love for Diego can be also found in the Painting Nr. 87: “Diego in my thoughts”. She also planted a knife on the frame of the painting, a reminder of how much Diego hurt her. Over the years she kept adding blood on the painting, she painted the frame in red-blood, and added blood-coloured spots on the frame as well. She also stabbed and damaged the frame with the knife; every knife mark was a reminder of the pain Diego inflicted her with his “irrelevant” affairs. The painting “A few small Nips” must be shown in its completeness, as Frida had it in display in her studio: with the cage and the knife, to be able to understand the full meaning Frida gave this painting. On October 13 1925 (4 weeks after Frida's accident), she wrote a letter to Alejandro Gomez Arias:"... When you come, please bring some chocolate and a Balero, the same we had on the day (of the accident) which I lost on the bus .Your friend, who is looking like a line on the landscape. Friducha
"Because of the tiny little umbrella I was very sad. Life begins tomorrow... " Many years later, Frida talked about her accident: "I remember it was the 17th September 1925 ... Shortly after we (Frida and Alejandro) had entered the bus, the collision happened. First we were in another bus, but I had lost a little umbrella, and we got out to look for it, that´s why we got on that bus, which mutilated me. The accident happened ... My first thought was for a pretty colorful Balero, which I had bought that day. I wanted to look for it in the belief that all of this would not have any consequences. " Source: Frida Kahlo, "Now that you're leaving me, I love you more than ever," 2007 SchirmerGraf, Munich. For further infos about the Balero game: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cup-and-ball #70: Frida Kahlo, Votive painting, after 1926; Licensed replica © Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2008. Frida Kahlo’s letter, sent from Detroit in 1933 an Georgia O’Keeffe: Georgia, Was wonderful to hear your voice again. Every day since I called you and many times before months ago I wanted to write you a letter. I wrote you many, but every one seemed more stupid and empty and I torn them up. I can’t write in English all that I would like to tell, especially to you. I am sending this one because I promised it to you. I felt terrible when Sybil Brown told me that you were sick but I still don’t know what is the matter with you. Please Georgia dear if you can’t write, ask Stiegliz to do it for you and let me know how are you feeling will you? I’ll be in Detroit two more weeks. I would like to tell you every thing that happened to me since the last time we saw each other, but most of them are sad and you mustn’t know sad things now. After all I shouldn’t complain because I have been happy in many ways though. Diego is good to me, and you can’t imagine how happy he has been working on the frescoes here. I have been painting a little too and that helped. I thought of you a lot and never forget your wonderful hands and the color of your eyes. I will see you soon. I am sure that in New York I will be much happier. If you still in the hospital when I come back I will bring you flowers, but it is so difficult to find the ones I would like for you. I would be so happy if you could write me even two words. I like you very much Georgia. Frieda Chavela Vargas enamoró a Frida Kahlo con su magnetismo erótico y vivieron juntas durante un año. “I live only for you and Diego,” Frida Kahlo told Chavela Vargas, who lived one year at the “Casa Azul”.
Die Farben der Frida Kahlo
Grün, Weiß, Rot sind die Farben der mexikanischen Fahne. Aber Mexiko ist mehr. Die Farben Mexikos sind voller Kraft, bunt und positiv. So wie auch Frida Kahlo ihr Leben trotz ihrer gesundheitlichen Probleme lebte und liebte. Kräftiges Blau, Rot, Grün und vor allem Gelb. Farben, die eine besondere Ausstrahlung haben, kontrastreich und voller Lebensfreude. Leuchtendes Gelb und warmes Orange spiegeln die Sonne und Wärme Mexikos wieder. Zu den Farben schrieb Frida Kahlo in ihr Tagebuch: Grün: warmes und gutes Licht. Rötlich Violett: aztekisch. Die lebendigste und älteste Farbe. Braun: Farbe von „Mole“, des vergehenden Blattes. Erde. Gelb: Wahnsinn, Krankheit, Angst. Teil der Sonne und der Freude. Kobaltblau: Elektrizität und Reinheit, Farbe der Liebe. Schwarz: nichts ist schwarz, wirklich nichts. Blattgrün: Blätter, Traurigkeit, Wissenschaft. Ganz Deutschland hat diese Farbe Grüngelb: noch größerer Wahnsinn und Geheimnis Alle Phantome tragen Anzüge dieser Farbe (..) oder zumindest Unterwäsche. Dunkelgrün: die Farbe schlechter Nachrichten und guter Geschäfte. Marineblau: Ferne. Auch Zärtlichkeit kann dieses Blau haben. Magenta: Blut? Nun ja, wer weiß Frida Kahlo |