Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Frida Kahlo

I must have been six years old
when I had an intense experience
of an imaginary friendship with a little girl .. roughly my own age.
On the window of
my old room,
facing Allende Street, I used to breathe on one of the top panes.
And with my finger I would draw
a “door”........
Through that “door”
I would come out, in my imagination,



Frida Fabric Doll by Quinn Knits

and hurriedly with immense happiness, I would
cross all the field I
could see until I reached…
a dairy store
called PINZON… Through
the “O” in PINZON I entered
and descended impetuously to the entrails
of the earth, where
“my imaginary friend” always waited for me. I don’t
remember her appearance or her
color [sic]. But I do remember her

Frida with Embroidery by Lily Grace Originals

joyfulness – she laughed a lot.
Soundlessly. She was agile
and danced as if she
were weightless. I
followed her in
every movement and while she
danced, I told her
my secxret problems, Which
ones? I can’t remember. But…
from my voice she knew all about my
affairs. When I came


Frida Creativity Doll by Awesome Art

back to the window, I would enter
through the same door I had
drawn on the glass. When?
How long had I been
with “her”? I don’t know. It could
have been a second or thousands of
years… I was happy. I would erase
the “door” with my
hand and it would “disappear”. I ran

with my secret and my
joy to the farthest corner
of the patio of my house, and


Frida Ooak Doll by Yalipaz

always to the same place, under a cedron
tree, I would shout and
laugh Amazed to be…
Alone with my great happiness
with the very vivid memory of
the little girl. It has been 34 years

since I lived that magical
friendship and every time
I remember it it comes alive and
grows more and more inside
my world. PINZON, 1950. Frida Kahlo.
‘Origin of the Two Fridas = Memory=’

From The Diary of Frida Kahlo: an intimate self-portrait

Frida Kahlo Snowglobe Doll by Buffalo Sisters

I enjoy the art and life story of the early twentieth century Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. I do get impatient with her adoration of Diego Riviera and the way she allowed him to inflict emotional pain on her - although I suppose this reinforces her/my/our humanity. We've probably all had some experience with a couple like this - two people as the main actors in a dramatic play with everybody else playing the bit parts...

22 comments:

Jeannette StG said...

Intriguing are the dolls from Frido Kahlo! Since we are looking from the outside of her life, we don't get the whole picture! Thanks for sharing:)

Kathie said...

I am inspired by Frida Kahlo as well

Anonymous said...

I love the fat frida, followed by the china assemblage frida.

Unknown said...

god these are amazing Chrisy- wow-
so i won something- how bloody wonderful is that ???????
My postal address is PO Box 213 Waratah 2298 NSW
most excellent and appreciated xx

Alicia @ boylerpf said...

Love the china Frida..jeweled.

flossy-p said...

Wow this is an amazing post. That footage is incredible! She's so beautiful (even more so in moving footage). I'm not sure I've ever seen real footage of her before.

I love the dolls too. The first 2 are my favourites. :)

Unknown said...

Love Frida Kahlo - what an amazing woman! This is a great post Chrisy - very inspiring!

Cathy {tinniegirl} said...

Totally inspiring - both you and her.

Griselda said...

How fun to find my Frida Doll in your blog, thanks for letting me know and for giving credit to me with a link back to my Etsy shop.
Your blog is lovely.

Hey Harriet said...

A great artist you've featured here! And what a fun selection of Frida dolls you found. Thanks for sharing that film. I think it may be the first time I've seen real footage of Frida Kahlo. I did see that movie about her with...um...can't remember now who played the role of Frida. Doh! That's going to bug me now! Oh well, it was an enjoyable enough film anyway :)

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing. Beautiful dolls!

@ivan_filios

Chrisy said...

Hi all, Very pleased that you've enjoyed this post about the intriguing Frida Kahlo..and the dolls...how wonderful are they...beautifully and originally crafted..and that film..such a treat to see the real Frida...to enjoy her physical beauty and catch a glimpse of that unique spirit...

Splendid Little Stars said...

I appreciate that you have shared this with us--her words, watching her move and paint, and the likenesses created by others.

Michelle said...

Fascinating lady was Freida. Love the dolls, especially the little round one :)

James said...

I like your blog, this post reminds me of "The Phaedo". Plato talks about recollection, how the idea of people having "other lifetimes" and how they teach knowledge you shouldn't otherwise have.

Sci-Phi
http://sciphijoshbrian.blogspot.com/

Michelle said...

Ive left you something over at my 'place'

xxx

Anonymous said...

Frieda was an amazing woman. I thoroughly enjoyed her biography (can't remember who it was by). She was big in every sense of the word - these dolls are amazing!

ArtSparker said...

The China Assemblage Frieda is quite extraordinary. So many of her paintings are bricolage, so it is a commentary on her work as well as a portrait.

Kate Moore said...

It's interesting she spurred people on to make likenesses of herself. Her image seems to be more famous than the works she created. I wonder what she'd think of that?

christine said...

Such beautiful interpretations of Frida! I agree with you in regards to her adoration of Diego. I think it's her contradictions that I find most interesting. She was ahead of her time for sure and yet she chose to be with Diego despite knowing exactly what he was like. A most fascinating love story~the more I red about her and study her work the more complex she becomes and her humanity all the more applealing~

Unknown said...

Wow, your work is beautiful! I make hand-sewn, beaded Frida Kahlo dolls. I'd love it if you visited my Etsy page and checked them out! http://snapdragon13.etsy.com

Candylei said...

Everyone loves Frida after they learn a little about her. Her own art really sits a person down to realize all we take for granted! Love all the Frida dolls you posted. CUTE!