Frida Kahlo is definitely an iconic image in Mexico. The image above is from a Mexico tourism ad playing on huge screens all over the customs area at the Mexico City airport. We had just landed to begin our adventures in Stevie Mack's CRIZMAC Day of the Dead experience. This was my third trip to Oaxaca but my husband's first. Bill and I work with Stevie to present summer seminars in Santa Fe (Desert Divas and Folk Art Extravaganza).
One of the first art exhibits we saw in Oaxaca consisted of dolls painted to look like Frida.
Clay folk artist Josefina Aguilar had made a version of Frida and Diego, sitting in a cart, that we saw when we visited her home. She demonstrated making a complete clay figure while we watched.
And Josefina's sister Irene down the street has pictured her as well, choosing different images from her paintings. More about Josefina and her sisters soon!
It is amazing how Frida has, in some cases, taken over the center stage from her famous husband Diego Rivera. Her images are prevalent in Mexico as well as the United States. People identify with her personal struggle and find her art a narrative of her life events. While she was alive, she did receive some recognition as an artist, with her first solo show in New York city. It wasn't until she was almost on her deathbed that she earned a show in her beloved Mexico. Never a shrinking violet, she attended her opening on her bed that was carried by several of her servants. What an event that must have been!
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