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Video related to this article is available below.Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: News
With Kahlo, a Mexican flavor comes to PMA
Museum exhibit is artist's first major U.S. show in 15 years
St. John Barned-Smith
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The exhibition, which draws on collections from places such as Mexico and Japan, contains 45 paintings and more than 100 of Kahlo's personal photographs. It opens today and runs through May 18.
Many of the paintings have never been displayed in the United States, and the exhibit is the first major presentation of Kahlo's work in the country in 15 years.
Penn Art History professor Gwendolyn Shaw said the high number of photographs make the show "important." She also said rising numbers of Latino and Hispanic immigrants have contributed to interest in Kahlo.
"Since the 1970s and the rise of the Chicano movement on the west coast of the U.S., there has been an interest in finding cultural heroes, and that has contributed to the use of Frida's images as iconic representations," she said.
Key themes of Kahlo's works are her own pain and suffering. After a brutal car accident that punctured her spinal column, she endured miscarriages and chronic, crippling pain before her death in 1954 at age 47.
Kahlo's ability to express her pain through her art has drawn many viewers.
"Ever since her death in the 1950s many people have identified with her life of pain and suffering and subsequent creativity - and that makes her a special 20th century artist," Shaw said.
But College senior Emilie Froh, a Visual Studies major, said Kahlo's depictions of pain can also push viewers away.
Kahlo's work includes pieces that depict her heart exposed and her backbone visible and wounded, with her body held together by bent carpenter's nails.
"You have to respect it either way, but people either love it or hate it," Froh said.
The exhibition is also significant, Shaw said, because few female artists, especially those from Latin America, receive single-artist exhibitions.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Maria
posted 2/20/08 @ 12:51 PM EST
The first sentence: "A new show featuring paintings and photography by Frida Kahlo..." is a bit misleading. The exhibit does feature personal photographs, but not necessarily a collection of Kahlo's own photography. (Continued…)
Daniel de jesus
posted 2/21/08 @ 10:21 AM EST
Helo
this is daniel de jesus from Taller Puertorriqueño.
I just wanted to clarify that I am not the executive director of Taller Puertorriqueño as the article states. (Continued…)
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