Classroom use of the art print

Arts & Activities, June, 2005

Frida Kahlo (1907-1954). The Two Fridas, 1939. Oil on canvas; 68" x 68". Museo Nacional de Arte Moderno, Mexico City, D.F., Mexico.

THINGS TO LEARN

* Understand that it was very difficult for Frida Kahlo to become recognized as a painter when her husband, Diego Rivera, was already famous. For many years she struggled to establish herself as an artist and eventually became known for her Surrealistic art that was quite different from her husband's work.

* Surrealism in art began following World War I, when artists were searching for new ways to express themselves after the horrors of the war. These artists found their ideas in dream-like pictures. Instead of painting objects in the world around them, Surrealist artists found their inspiration in dreams and those feelings and emotions that people have deep inside them. Their goal was to achieve a greater truth from these ideas and feelings than was possible from painting the everyday world. The word Surrealism comes from the idea of "super-reality" or "sur-reality" and while none of the works of Surrealist artists look alike, many of their pictures are painted with a strange kind of realism.

Some of the leading Surrealist artists were Giorgio De Chirico, Salvador Dali, Yves Tanguy, Rene Magritte, Joan Miro and Jean Arp. And some artists continue to paint Surrealist pictures today.

* A good way to learn about art is to play games with reproductions. For example, once students have studied Surrealist art for a while, they may use their knowledge to improve on what they know.

One way might be to play a game where someone shows a mixed set of art reproductions and the players see who can be first to identify those paintings by Surrealists. Something similar might be tried so that students try and be first to name the artists when shown reproductions of surreal art.

* In order to get a better idea of Frida Kahlo's paintings, students may like to study more examples of her work by looking at books on art and also using computer searches of the World Wide Web. Her paintings will sometimes be found with other Mexican artists and sometimes under her own name. Her work may also be shown under search words such as "Surrealism." Examples may also be found under the names of art museums where her work is exhibited.

* Mexico lies just across the southern border of the United States but most U.S. students know very little about that country. Were they to study what was happening there during the lifetime of Frida Kahlo they are more likely to have a better appreciation of her life and her art.

For example, the Mexican Revolution was going on during much of her childhood and affected everyone in the country. And following the Revolution--during the 1920s--one of the greatest periods of art in the world took place, led by such artists as Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros, Jose Orozco and Rufino Tamayo.

* Girls in art classes may benefit from learning about the problems faced by Frida Kahlo when she became the wife of Diego Rivera 70 years ago. In this country, even when girls with artistic talent got married, most of them were expected to stay at home and bring up a family.

In Mexico at that time, young women were even more controlled than girls in the United States. Yet, despite of these restrictions, Frida Kahlo's family permitted her to attend a university preparatory school; while later through her own talent and willpower she was able to become a well-known artist. In fact, at her death, the country of Mexico recognized her as a national treasure.

Frida Kahlo overcame an additional problem in establishing herself as an artists: she was Mexican in a world of art that was almost exclusively European. And yet she succeeded in this achievement as well and became one of the first--if not the very first--Surrealist of the New World.

THINGS TO DO

* Some students may share the kind of feeling that made Frida Kahlo paint this picture. Perhaps they were born in other countries and emigrated to the United States. If so, they may be encouraged to create their own idea of the different ways they think of themselves. For example, they might show themselves in one picture as their parents have brought them up to be as well as the way they like to be thought of by their friends. Other kinds of portraits might show them as successful in some sport they value or the toughest member of a gang--or that they are really very shy.

* Some students may discover that they really enjoy Surrealist art and would like to try it themselves. To help them get started, they might search among successful Surrealist artists and then paint a picture of their own using the style of the artist they liked best.

An important part of this painting would be to make sure that they had an idea for the painting that they could explain to other students in their class.

* Costumes can be very useful to help students with their art just as it was for Frida Kahlo in the painting reproduced here. Students may ask one member of a class--or even a visiting parent or grandparent--to pose for them. But instead of the model being dressed in everyday clothes, they might be asked to dress in something unusual. For example, some student families may have fancy dress costumes at home that they would allow to be used for such an occasion. Or the school drama department may have costumes in storage they would allow to be used. Or the art teacher might have costumes that have been collected especially for an experience like this.