art class notes #2: frida kahlo
Seattle, WA
Course: Modern Art and Ideas
Institution: The Museum of Modern Art| MoMa
Painting: Frida Kahlo - Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair, 1940
Interpreter: Vasooda Kumar
Translation of the Inscription at the top of painting:
“Look, if I loved you, it was because of your hair, now that you're hairless, I don't love you anymore.”
— lyrics from popular Mexican folklore song
“I paint my own reality” – Kahlo. In the painting Kahlo features herself with cropped hair and an oversized coat – the painting evokes feelings about her relationship with Rivera while asserting her authority as an artist.
Interpretation: The painting to me (Vasooda Kumar) feels like two identities competing within one body. It carries themes of betrayal, power, passion, love, beauty, lust, death, and transcendence.