My original thoughts for this project were to take an image or painting that symbolized identity, and transform it to have an effect on the viewer different from the original purpose or truth behind it.
what if there was words added?
what if the background was her true reality?
what if this pain wasnt presented on her but someone else?
what if this was a print out not a painting?
what if this was smaler than the original?
what if this was larger than the original?
Frida Kahlo used her art as a way to express the pain of her accident.
My partner asked:
Frida Kahlo, The Broken Column
EXHIBTIION REVIEW ONLY, FRIDA KAHLO, TATE MODERN
Frida Kahlo
The Broken Column
1944
Oil on canvas
400 x 305mm
Museo Dolores Olmedo Patino Mexico (Mexico City, Mexico)
Banco de Mxico and INBAL, Mexico, 2004
I then thought of adding a quote to the image that was quoted from Frida herself and changing the scenery to her reality as well. The quote stating she paints her reality. and the background was of Fridas bed which indeed was her reality as well. will this show her reality more than the first painting created by Frida? will this prove her pain was real?
Will others be able to see that her paintings allowed her to release her sarrow through art instead of holding things in. She was able to heal mentally with art.
After creating this piece. the idea came to me
“What if this was a form of advertisement or inspiration”
Frida is a survivor of a terrible train and bus collision accident. she is an inspiration for safer public transportation driving and communication.
Also, her right foot was dislocated and crushed, and her shoulder was out of joint. Frida spent a month lying on her back. She was encased in a plaster cast and enclosed in a boxlike structure. She began painting to pass the time while healing in bed. It became her lifelong passion.
She is a spokes person to all people that are now healing from an accident or perminantly hurt from an accident. She never gave up on painting and i find that amazing. She used it as a therapy for mental healing as well as a hobby.
In hospitals today, art therapy gives people the joy of freedom and inspiration and expression. I spoke to a friend of mine who had a similar story related to Frida.
Madeline, now a 19 year old highschool graduate and artist in college, is a survivor of a terrible car accident that occured in November of 2016. She was left Paralyzed. Since her accident, therapy has been a great success, not just in physical therapy but her art therapy is giving her the freedom to be herself and continue her art making skills. she was able to have art therapy in the hospital and after, her and i worked together after her accident every day. She is now able to write her name again and paint.
She has told me that art is forever her life calling. Maddie Stated, “i would say art therapy helped me heal physically because before my accident i was capable of making a variety of different pieces with different mediums. and as a result of my accident i lost the capability to hold a brush which frustrated me. i wanted to be able to create really cool things like before so i worked really hard in PT to regain arm function to be able to just be able to create a simple brush stroke. from there i learned different ways to hold different objects to create art. i also acquired different techniques all together such as spitting paint covered spitballs from a straw. i would have days where i never wanted create art because of how frustrating it was and how different it looked. but i never gave up. currently i am learning to write and draw again.”
she is designing hats and shirts for a company called Amphibia.Planning on traveling with the company, they would like to inspire others who are survivors of accidents to keep striving for art in their life because it is mentally and physically healing.
This Image i created does not just affect madelines life, Fridas and mine. It can inspire many others.
although this may be a dark piece, it is very real and personal to ones life and that is what makes it inspiring. I find putting her quote with her reality quite beautiful because the thought behind her work is what allows herself to feel free from it.
