Week 7 Frida Kahlo | Navdeep Sanghera

 Frida Kahlo Was a Painter, a Brand Builder, a Survivor. And So Much More Rebecca Kleinman

" People have described her as broken and fragile, but she was strong and accomplished a tremendous amount in her lifetime." 

I was not interested in and inspired by Friday Kahlo until reading and watching her biography. Her artworks liberated and put her mind at ease while she went through pain in her life. Her resilience made me emotional, seeing someone else facing issues. She continued making art as it aided her complex and unfortunate journeys. Kahlo's artworks show her determination to live on and be quite a strong individual.

Ms. Small pointed out that Kahlo " carefully groomed her unibrow," a defiant choice at a time when "many depilatory methods existed. That brow was meaningful because it didn't conform to Hollywood beauty standards."

During a period when women's beauty standards were constantly increasing, Frida Kahlo proudly displayed her autonomy by keeping her unibrow intact. Despite probably receiving numerous comments from her mother, sister, and other relatives to get rid of the unibrow, Kahlo did not let the comments stop her. In fact, she created her own beauty standard and admired her unibrow, which was an act of activism through beauty.

Frida Kahlo Self-Portrait with Monkey 1940

Recreation 

Upon taking this picture I incorporated many themes alongside the surrealism of dream. I dreamed of a raven and other pets when I had more of an autonomous choice. As Frida, I wanted to make myself in a stature presence with utmost confidence, as I aspire to be a person with full confidence. I incorporated elements of my culture, with long and gorgeous earrings a headpiece, and a cardigan made from back home in India. This photograph represents me accepting the duality of two Identity: An American and an Indian Identity. My whole childhood up until the beginning of college. I questioned what my identity was. I wasn't fond of my culture at all. I only wanted to embrace being an American. Back then being a white kid seemed cooler and fun rather being from a different culture. We knew being white was superior back then, and among other kids, we felt we weren't as special compared to the white kids in our school. And hearing how much fun their parents took them on family trips while we stayed home- we devalued ourselves and our culture.