Frida Kahlo

BACKSTORY

Big Frida, not the little one, as the young folks would say. I recreated a painting of hers as an art assignment. I can recall using the smallest baldheaded paintbrush to make a leaf appear furry. That was my claim to fame! I took a break to attend a party for JaVon Flowers. He had his Sweet 16 at Geoffrey’s Inner Circle. Too Short made an appearance or was supposed to. I’d left by that time ailed by introversion and yearning to marvel at the progress I made on the painting before I’d left.

We painted the assignment on a grid. Mr. Burke helped me contour her neck in class. The rest was all me! I will insert a photo below. Let me know if it’s laughable, my grandad laughed me out of the house when I showed it to him. Frankly, I don’t know how much his distaste for the rendition impacted me. What I do know is I did my very best, I wanted to make Frida and Fulang-Chang (the monkey) proud. That is all that matters/mattered.

my high school art project is a rendition Frida’s Self-Portrait with Monkey, 1938

Had I done a good job in her eyes? This woman wore pants before it was permissible to do so. Respectfully or disrespectfully which and whatever way you see fit, toting a unibrow and a mustache to boot. This entity that painted the semblance of coochies in her fruits and flowers. Got cheated on and got her lick back, no pun intended. The Frida that was whole, broken, and whole again. The word Spirit just gave to me was admiral a military term which can mean a “butterfly that has dark wings with bold colorful markings.” Yeah, that’s her…

CASA AZUL | Museo Frida Kahlo

“...from 1929 to the present 1944, I can’t recall any time when the Riveras have not had at least one houseguest. Home, sweet, home!”
— Frida Kahlo

AT THE HOUSE AND IN THE GARDEN

A transcription of thoughts running through my mind, via voice note and a little pen-to-pad.

So I finally reached the Casa Azul in Mexico City.

What are the chances, Mr. Burke?!

I don’t know where to begin. The blue hue gives Jardin Marjorelle vibes.

I was so stressed on the way over, but it does not matter now.

Sitting in her garden listening to someone else’s conversation in Espanol.

As John would say, “Give them they conversation back.”

Birds are cooing, they say this place (Coyoacán) was rural once upon a time.

The neighborhood reminds me a bit of Berkeley at first glance.

The air is different here. I feel peace honey, in Big Frida’s house.

How would she feel about us being here?

Taking pictures of her stuff.

They say she liked a lot of friends around.

I’d love to come back here dressed for a fete. Do they host parties here?

They probably host donors.

Can you rent it for beaucoup bucks?

Now I’m listening to a conversation in German, or something close to it (found out after asking if it was Dutch, they said it was close to German). Frida’s father was an artist-photographer of German descent, did he sprechen sie, Deutsch? How did he get over this way?

May I add her grandmama or whoever is sitting behind her mama, at first glance she looks a little textured and seasoned. Please excuse me if I’ve overstepped. Although, as I learn more about Mexican culture they say the blend is ok, it’s respected and genuinely incorporated. Gotta get to Veracruz and vett that though.

Appearances Can be Deceiving: Frida Kahlo’s Wardrobe

Dare I say the curation of Appearances Can be Deceiving: Frida Kahlo’s Wardrobe spoke to me louder than the house. Curated by Circe Henestrosa, Exhibition Design by Judith Clark, Mont Blanc is one of the sponsors (The only bottled water I enjoy drinking overseas, this was and is my destiny, honey). Newsflash around these parts Mont Blanc is a Mexican pen and watch company but a girl can dream and find synergy anywhere she sees fit. Lol

I almost feel like patrons should experience this part first, but the museum traffic is likely too intense to start here. To experience her as she decided to present herself first and then be invited into her home. Understanding that they found these items in the home well after she transitioned and the museum was incorporated.

The exhibition outlines how much her culture and health shaped her closet. Due to illness, medication, and surgeries, she wore things that would shroud casts, corsets, prostheses, and the list goes on. However, she is and was “that girl” as Jenné would say, so when she put that shit on, she put it on (AAEV). Baybe Big Frida the big steppa.

Legend has it that the neighborhood children asked Frida, “Which way was the circus?”

She was a sight to behold when other folks just fit the norm. In grade school, she received high marks for intelligence and low marks for conduct. She was someone who could not do things the way other folks did. Now look, this many years later, and her custom Tehuana indigenous “fashions” as Mr James would say, continue to influence Parisian haute houses.

Above: Appearances Can Be Deceiving — Frida Kahlo | Below Left to Right: Frida’s prosthetic leg, Frida’s boot, her corset cast, huipil, and robes from the fashion houses Rei Kawakubo, Dai Reees, Jean Paul Gaultier, everything designed with Frida in mind.

ARCHITECTURAL AND BOTANICAL RESEARCH

“...I often have more sympathy for carpenters, cobblers, etc, than for that whole stupid, supposedly civilized herd of windbags known as cultivated people.”
— Frida Kahlo

YOUTUBE AND GOOGLE UNIVERSITY

I’d like to know more about design, architecture, and botany. I’m trying my best to incorporate that here. A little lived experience, oral tradition, and light web search combined. This sounds like a running list of Snapple facts, but I’m trying to teach myself something...


Casa Azul formerly Casa Blanca (before the paint job) was built in 1904 or 1905.

“The construction, then white, was an example of colonial typology; central patio with a ring of rooms around it, which borders the street on a continuous façade.” A Jstor article reads this kind of architecture was used to shield young women from the outside world, whilst allowing them to enjoy fresh air. I can see that because the Spanish colonial style is influenced by Moorish and Islamic architecture. The same culture connected to places like Morrocco and Türkiye where harems and keeping beautiful women under lock and key was common practice.

Diego paid off the family debt and transferred the home into his wife’s name. After the death of Frida’s father, she and Diego moved in as a married couple in the 1940s. They dipped the house in this shade of blue. We learned from our Teotihuacan guide Cristian that in Mexican culture blue symbolizes the god of rain.

Diego built the stone add-on, perhaps this is related to the temple architecture we saw in the middle of the city the other day. The same stones indigenous people used to build the temples were reconfigured after demolition to build the Spanish churches next door.

If you’re looking to paint something in the same shade Ultramarine 1035 is allegedly the color for all your internal and external needs. Thanks to Uzoma for placing an article in Slack about color and healing architecture. I clicked on a few links in the article and there is a mention of a documentary called Building in Colour. Check out this quote:

Matte suggests depth and absorbs light and shiny surfaces reflect light.. and Shiny surfaces can be practical as well ‘cause they can be cleaned easily… there's a combination of color and practicality it comes back again. But on the whole, when you're using color and you want to play with the depth of color, its often better in a matte finish in my view. You see great examples of Yves Klien using blue for example. And it is matte, it’s not shiny. It’s depth against the green of the plants in his garden wall in Morocco. and once you start to play with color a lot you realize that instinctively know what finish should be where and how it should be applied. Architects like Frank Lloyd Wright knew that really well. You know with falling water, you know. The idea is that the ceiling is another plane and reflected light can play on it. — Chris Dyson Architect — Building in Color Documentary

BIG FRIDA, HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

I identified the following plants: banana, fern, pathos, cacti, swiss cheese plant also known as monstera, nightshades, elephant ears, zebrina, fig, and palm trees. That knowledge stems from 2020 to 2021 when you couldn’t get me out of the East Bay Nursery. That place had me in a trance and my pockets in a chokehold.

I had to google trailing fuchsia and different types of yucca, which I may have mistaken for palm.

Did you know that bananas don’t grow on trees? I was today years old. It’s a plant called Musa.

“Who needs to feel? I’ve got wings to fly.”
— Frida Kahlo

What do you say about Frida, when in some way or another she’s said it about herself?

Simply speak to her legacy’s impact on the one you’re living…

Whether or not it was in a painting class at Saint Liz, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the film Frida, or Casa Azul, every time I’ve encountered her works it’s been surreal.

I love her and I’m so glad I made it to see about her, to learn more about her…
I purchased a patch from the gift store, a purple heart, some postcards, and a magnet.

Thank you for taking the time to read or look this far, I appreciate you…