Why I admire Frida Kahlo
By: MarÃa Paula Salazar 10ºB
Everyone has heard of Frida Kahlo: maybe because of her self-expression, her political ideas, her paintings, or even all of her terrible medical conditions. But something that we can all agree on is that she did a great job of breaking some of the most influential stereotypes of the 20th century. And even though this is worth analyzing or discussing today, I am going to tell you the analysis of one of the best paintings by Frida Kahlo, in my opinion. Both for its message and its style.
Firstly, I want to mention some brief information about her: her full name was Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo Calderón. She was born in Coyoacán, on July 6th, 1907, and died on April 9th, 1954. She was a Mexican painter who, through her works, managed to transmit some thoughts on feminism, natural beauty, as well as helping marginalized women in Mexico, and the art of the mentioned country. Also, with them, she made some social critics about marginalization, disloyalty, and violence.
Now, regarding her works, "Unos Cuantos Piquetitos" is a remarkable one by Frida. In it, you can see a man who has murdered a woman who is probably his wife. She decided to paint this scene because she had heard about a terrible event: a man who murdered his wife justified his actions as "just a few cuts'' (hence the name of the play). The victim's body is naked and bloody. The killer is standing next to her, knife in hand, smiling. There is a terror scene, which can be accentuated by the yellowish colors, which can be interpreted as a putrid one, giving a sense of disgust. This is emphasized with the location of the blood, which eventually stains the same frame; and some other details, such as the handkerchief that the killer keeps in his pocket. You can also see how around the frame that there are several strains of red paint, which symbolize the woman's blood. Frida took care of this since she first asked that the frame be built smoothly so that later she could give it some details, like the previous one. With her artwork, Kahlo is trying to transform the viewer into a witness of the femicide. "The blood on the frame breaks the distance between the event portrayed and the act of portraying." In a way, the painter seems to question the spectator, posing the dilemma of remaining silent or denouncing the crime. This painting is fundamental to see the aspect of feminism to which Frida Kahlo points because it shows one of the most important themes for her: what gender violence and inequality were. Additionally, the happiness, satisfaction, and pleasure seen in the subject's face can be interpreted as the feeling of the carefreeness of the individual. They think that just because they have made "a few small cuts," nothing will happen; that he or she will not have consequences for what has been done. Here you can also see how the woman is considered as an object at the disposal of the male gender; he did what he wanted with her.
Finally, it is valuable to point out two things: the first is that the woman seen in the painting does not follow any European aesthetic canon: she has brown skin, a drooping bust, and a wrinkled face; this marks the harshness of death, so mixed up in Mexican culture that it seems to justify the murder of any woman. The second is that, beyond the characterization of the characters, the title of the work shows the very national necessity of using diminutives. To reduce the importance of the act, as to weaken its validity and acceptance.
To conclude, I believe that Kahlo was ahead of her time; she was concerned about matters that to this day are quite relevant. Also, she was always firm towards her political and social beliefs, and never let anyone else change her; in fact, I think she changed people, and not because these individuals were forced, but because they wanted to have the beauty that Frida had.