Frida

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting the much anticipated Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. I'm so happy to have the time off so I could absorb  the show because there was so much care put into showing the many facets of her life. I wish I could share pictures but out of respect for the Museum's no photo policy, all I can say is be sure to see it as soon as you can!

Like most people, I had read and seen movies and documentaries about Frida's life but it felt so different to see the parts of her life that she lived with in person,  which even included the medicine bottles that she used for her chronic illnesses.

It took me a while in the last several years to really appreciate her paintings. At first, they seemed too surreal, so full of pain and even gruesome at times. Over time I came to appreciate the raw honesty of her work and her willingness to speak of her hopes, pain and disappointments through her work. I imagine that had to be like journaling for her.

I  was so inspired by what I saw that I created this quick Inkscape portrait of her. I I thought it apropos to have her kind of softly disintegrating (or integrating, depending on how you look at it) considering her painful and complicated relationship with her body. She spent most of her life in pain but I wanted to show that even when it seemed like she couldn't come together physically, there was still fluidity...some softness to it.

Anyway, don't waste another minute and get your ticket to see Frida in Brooklyn.