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| Kiss: This undated photo shows a painted lipstick on a photo of Frida Kahlo's husband, Mexican artist Diego Rivera. Mexico celebrates
the centennial anniversary of Khalo's birth this summer. Frida Kahlo Museum/AP |
Mexico celebrates the real Frida Kahlo
Two new exhibitions in Mexico City reintroduce the artist's many facets.
By Sara Miller Llanafrom the July 6, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 2
Some Mexicans were livid when artist Frida Kahlo's life turned into a Hollywood biopic starring Salma Hayek, speaking English.
"I'm sure [Kahlo] would have walked out," Mexican writer Guadalupe Loaeza huffed in the daily newspaper Reforma when the movie premièred five years ago.
So it is with particular glee that, upon the 100th anniversary of her birth (July 6, 1907), Mexico is mounting its largest-ever exhibit of her work. Another exhibit at Kahlo's former home here, now a museum, opens Friday, and includes photos, letters, and personal items that have been hidden from view for 50 years.
The intent is to reintroduce the many facets of Frida; to turn back the commercial tide of "Fridamania" that has reduced her complex life to a CliffNote of tragedies and her art into a series of self-portraits reproduced on refrigerator magnets and book bags.
"In Mexico we know she is a pop icon, it's a fact," says Roxana Velasquez, the director of the Museo de Bellas Artes, which is hosting the exhibition through August 19. "But she is much more than a self-portrait."
True, on a recent day, the thickest crowds filled the gallery that displayed her best-known works, including her haunting piece, "The Two Fridas," and her various self-portraits with monkeys or skulls – the same paintings that dominated the reel of the movie.
Yet for those wanting to learn more, there is plenty to examine. More than 350 pieces are on display, including works from loan across the globe. There is a series of still lifes and a room dedicated to portraits of friends and colleagues. There are 50 personal letters, and 100 photographs and paintings that have never been publicly viewed before. "I had no idea she did portraits of her friends, or still lifes. She has so much more talent than I thought," gushed Maricela Garcia, who was visiting Mexico City from the northern state of Sonora. "For me she is a symbol of Mexico."
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