My second book for my research paper was Frida Kahlo: An Open Life by Raquel Tibol and translated by Elinor Randall. Tibol writes on Kahlo's life including the time she met the artist, but it also includes many passages from Kahlo's private diary. These were by far the most interesting part of the biography because they gave insight into her mind and her feelings. The events of her life that I learned about in the first book like her relationship with Diego Rivera and her bus accident that gave her pain for the rest of her life became much more real. I got to hear her accounts of her personal life and how they effected her thoughts and emotions. I definitely want to incorporate how her life experiences and extreme pain can be seen in her artwork into my research paper.
The most interesting diary entry was when Kahlo described the bus accident that left her in extreme pain, with a limp, and unable to have children. She talks about the terrible conditions of the hospital she was in for three months and how her own mother never once visited her. This accident changed her life and clearly affected her art and the way she saw/depicted herself. Tibol also writes about aspects of Kahlo's life that are usually overlooked but still show a great deal of who she was. One part of the book talks about her bedroom and how sad it was because of the great deal of time she was forced to spend there due to her injuries. The walls were stamped with the names of her friends and lovers, small Hispanic sculptures were everywhere, and her beloved dog Xolotl was often present, who Rivera had once tried to kill after it urinated on one of his paintings. These small details and stories made Frida Kahlo much more real to me and gave me a much better idea of her life and who she was, and I'm excited to learn even more about her.
Emily, looks like reading this gave you some good insight into Kahlo (especially her journal entries). I bet that her spending some much time in her bedroom/ in pain influenced her art very much. Where do you see it in her art? Do you think that she used art as a means of therapy? For your paper, what aspects of her art do you plan to key in on?
ReplyDeleteSide Notes: I think it is hilarious that the dog peed on one of her husbands paintings, and, also, you the noun form (effect) instead of the verb form affect in this phrase: "they effected her thoughts and emotions". Other than that one error, well done :)
I think with both of your blog post about the research project you've done a good job with informing the reader about your topic and giving insight to where you want to take your essay. I think you could use some organization with paragraphs, because just reading one big block can be intimidating. I do feel however, your writing shows a good understanding of the material that you read and I think your essay will be very interesting.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I am getting at, you are gathering some very interesting information about Kahlo. I am glad that you are focusing on the details on her life, from what you have said those do sound quite influential on her artwork. I liked the whole side note on how the dog urinated on a painting. I see that you are gathering a lot of accurate information on your topic, but I am rather curious on the layout of your essay and what it will encompass. Overall, you have proven that you are deeply committed to your topic and you show very precise information regarding Kahlo. Excellent job.
ReplyDelete