Where Visual Arts Meets Emotional Wellbeing - Frida Kahlo
ORDER
Life Story
Featured Artworks
Conclusion
Frida Kahlo
At the age of 6, Kahlo contracted polio, leaving her with a limp. “During her formative years, she witnessed the uncertainties and destruction of the decade-long Mexican Revolution” (Antelo, 1). At 18, she experienced a horrific bus accident, leaving her with grave injuries that severely impaired her daily function---including but not limited to; a broken spinal column, a collarbone, and 11+ fractures in her right leg. During her lifetime, Frida Kahlo endured many relapses of pain & fatigue, prolonging hospital stays and resulting in near 30 procedures all throughout.
Alongside her physical struggles and detriments, Kahlo suffered with heavy psychosocial distress. Her marriage, often described as tumultuous and burdensome, her multiple miscarriages, the physical agony from the many sustained injuries----Kahlo’s mental health & wellness spiraled downwards as the struggles between her individuality and external environment continued to waltz and clash in her already dire circumstances.
It was during her initial recuperation stages that Kahlo began to teach herself how to paint.
Frida Kahlo’s artwork encompassed reflection amidst loss, suffering, and pain---serving as a mechanism through which she could release the hurt and emotional insecurity attributed to her physical trauma. Her artwork was innovative. Despite her previous physical and emotional ailments, she turned suffering into art, creating a portfolio resonating with millions across the globe. It was expressive. It offered her a safe space for self-expression. Above all, it was personal and emotionally evocative---detailing slivers of her own life experience and psychological distress growing up.
“Frida Kahlo.” Www.healing-Power-of-Art.org, www.healing-power-of-art.org/frida-kahlo-created-art-that-transcended-her-suffering/#:~:text=Frida%20Kahlo%20taught%20herself%20to%20paint%20during%20her. Kuntz, Matt. “Mental Health in History: Frida Kahlo - the Unfiltered Portrait of Art, Resilience, and Mental Health - Nami Montana.” Www.namimt.org, 3 July 2023, www.namimt.org/news/mental-health-in-history-frida-kahlo-the-unfiltered-portrait-of-art-resilience-and-mental-health.
01. The Broken Column.
Created in 1944, The Broken Column symbolizes Kahlo’s severe physical pain, which stemmed from a series of health issues, including a debilitating bus accident and subsequent surgeries. The column represents the structural integrity of her body, fragmented and damaged after the physical trauma she has faced. The barren, empty, and jagged background enhances the feeling of desolation, reflecting the emotional and physical emptiness that Kahlo felt during this period of her life.
02. The Two Frida’s
Created shortly after Kahlo’s divorce with Diego Rivera, The Two Fridas can be seen as a representation of her split identity and the emotional turmoil experienced as a result of the separation from her betrothed. Upon viewing the exterior of both Frida’s, the painting illustrates the duality of Kahlo’s persona—one connected to her Mexican roots and the other to her more cosmopolitan, European influences.
The emotional rawness of Kahlo’s surrealistic artwork offers viewers a glimpse into Kahlo’s inner world and her conflict in identity and relationships.
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/pain-and-paintbrush-life-and-art-frida-kahlo/2013-05 https://mydailyartdisplay.uk/2012/07/17/frida-kahlo-part-3/ https://mydailyartdisplay.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/my-nurse-and-i-by-frida-kahlo-1937.jpg
Frida Kahlo remains paramount as a figure of strength, authenticity, and unwavering tenacity. Frida’s trifles with life, her battles, her victories, and her embracing of vulnerability in her very public journey through mental health figurehead few of many such ways that art has paved way towards reconciliation with underlying trauma. Through art, Kahlo created a home to the feelings and sufferings endured throughout her life. As an artist, a woman, a daughter—as a human being with a calling towards the visual arts, Kahlo’s transparency with trauma and rehabilitation through art serves testament to the importance of mental healthcare and wellness practices.
