Frida Kahlo: a life in art - Softcover

Mieke Bal; Laura Gonzáles Matute; Stine Høholt; Charlotte Linvald; Griselda Pollock; Helga Prignitz-Poda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3775736077 ISBN 13: 9783775736077

Publisher: Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2013

Synopsis

The notoriously complex life and radical, visionary work of Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) are inextricably interwoven, at times seeming to constitute a whole theatrical performance. As the daughter of a German-born photographer, Kahlo was used to posing, and from early youth she was adept at guiding the public perception of her person. In her often anguished self-portraits, she dissected her conflicts and her physical traumas, soon becoming an iconic figure and a symbol for Mexican culture. Yet ironically she transgressed many boundaries and shattered taboos in a way that was perhaps shocking to most Mexicans. In portraits by friends and photographers such as Tina Modotti and Edward Weston she wears traditional clothing and features many Mexican folk traditions, transforming her "Mexicanidad" into an indelible personal trademark. Through numerous paintings and photographs, and with articles by acclaimed theorists such as Griselda Pollock and Mieke Bal, this book traces the major events of this unique artist's life, while relating Kahlo's art to that of her contemporaries, such as Diego Rivera, Maria Izquierdo, David Alfaro Siquieros and Jose Clemente Orozco.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

"I was considered a Surrealist. That is not right. I never painted dreams. What I depicted, was my reality." Our book zooms right into this reality, and it does so in a new and unusual way: presenting Frida Kahlo's paintings in a general view and in selected details, it reveals the wealth of stories and creatures hidden in her self-portraits; it makes tangible the life-long physical and spiritual pain endured by the artist; and it illustrates painterly skills and techniques reminiscent of old European masters.

About this edition

• Publisher: Hatje Cantz Verlag
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 3775736077
• ISBN 13: 9783775736077
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112
• Editor: Arken - Museum For Moderne Kunst