Featured Stories
Frida Kahlo: Surrealist or Realist?
“They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality” – Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo is considered as one of the most famous female artists of all time. Her many and distinctive self-portraits and the usage of symbolism in her artworks are her trademark. Although her talent in arts is undoubtable, the skepticism about whether her style reflects ‘realism’ or ‘surrealism’ arose among the artists and art critics of her time.
Realism’ or ‘naturalism’ is an art movement that reflects the world truthfully, avoiding supernatural and exaggerated elements. The human condition is exposed in realist paintings as artists in this genre believe it unnecessary for art to distort the truth with beauty and fantasy.
‘Surrealism’ on the other hand is the opposite. The subconsciousness or dream-like qualities of surrealist art is at the core of this art movement. The technique of connecting irrelevant objects in the same frame and creating non-existence objects can evoke an emotional response for those looking into the art. There is no concrete meanings in surreal art, it depends on viewer’s interpretation of the paintings. Reflect on ‘The Persistence of Memory’, a well known painting of a melting clock by one of the most famous surrealist artist in the world, Salvador Dali.
Kahlo applies the same technique to connect irrelevant objects to create a story and express her emotions. ‘Henry Ford Hospital (The Fly Bed)’ and ‘Diego and I’ are the great examples showing elements that resemble the style of surrealism.
However, Kahlo herself rejected this label, she claimed that none of her works tell the story of her dreams. Nor are separated from her reality and the hardship she experienced. She preferred to refer to them as ‘magical realism’.
There are many outstanding paintings produced by Frida Kahlo, but the painting that clearly describes the theme of magical realism is ‘Moses’. This painting was inspired by Sigmund Freud’s book “Moses the Man and Monotheistic Religion”. In the centre, there is an abandoned baby with third eye on his forehead surrounded by heroes, gods, human beings and the hands of death. Another baby in the shell refers as the symbolism of love, whereas the dead tree represents life and the death. The elements and arrangement in this painting seem to be unreal but her message was to convey the reality and the cycle of life.
Frida Kahlo’s talent as an artist and her ability to portray her life remain as powerful today as when she painted them.
To know more about Frida Kahlo’s story and artworks, book a ticket for RCB Film Club’s second screening of the documentary ‘Frida Kahlo’.
Saturday 19 December, 2 p.m. at RCB Forum on the 2nd floor of River City Bangkok.