Frida Kahlo and Louise Bourgeois

The first artist I looked at was, Frida Kahlo a Mexican painter. She was married to another Mexican painter, Diego Rivera. She was born in Coyocacan in 1907, one of four daughters. Her work has been greatly celebrated in Mexico, as well as in American. Frida suffered health problems all her life. She was a survivor of polio and also seriously injured in a car accident, these experiences and memories to show through in her art. Most of Frida’s art is self portraits. She stated “I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best." She also stated, "I was born a bitch. I was born a painter.” Frida was also a bisexual and unable to have children. Her marriage suffered due to infidelities and the pressure to try and get pregnant.   

 

As we can see, Frida had some rough times in her life, physically and mentally, and her artwork tells a story of that. She is best known for her self portraits and remembered for the pain and passion in her art work. Her work shows hurt and suffering from the times in her life where she was in misery. Her artwork is unlike anyone else’s and is a reflection of her life, almost a biography through her pieces. She tells a story in each piece with her vibrant colors and intensity.
 For example, this painting “Without Hope” from 1945 is extremely intense and bold with color. The colors are very vibrant and alive, but the meaning behind the painting is almost the opposite. To me, this tells a story by showing Frida on bed rest from when she was very sick and showing how she was feeling, her emotions. Helpless, as if her life was being sucked out of her, obviously she is crying and looks drained. 

Secondly, I looked at the artist Louise Bourgeois. Louise is from Paris, born in 1911. She studied at many schools there and later immigrated to the United States in 1938 to pursue her studies with artwork. She is greatly recognized in the 20th century for her work with sculpture art. Her main theme in her work his her childhood. She uses rubber, wood, bronze and stone to execute her sculptural work. A famous line stated by Louise is “My childhood has never lost its magic, it has never lost its mystery, and it has never lost its drama.” This statement explains the use of male and female bodies and the connection to innocence and sexuality in her pieces.

An example of her work that I looked at was "Arch of Hysteria" from 1993. This piece is a sculpture of what looks to be a male in almost a back bend. The thing about this piece is that the sculpture does not have a head. The person almost looks paralyzed or immobile. Louise balances the definition of the word "hysteria" in the title with the masculinity of the sculpture with the emotional state of men and women and how they connect.