Frida Kahlo had it Right All Along
When you are asked to recreate a famous portrait - most might look to a beautiful Rembrandt or anything from the Renaissance period. But not me. I think about who influences me and why. First person to come to mind?
Frida Kahlo.
She was waaay ahead of her time. Not only was she a feminist in her own right, she also became one of the leading voices for indigenous tradition and Mexican people in the 20th Century. Her paintings were surreal in nature, she never shied away from the use of color, and used her work as a means to comment on her own understanding of herself.
She is best known for her iconic attire (think flower crown, colorful ribbons, and beautiful Caftans), but images of her in her younger years - mostly shot by her father are magnificent. Check some of them out here.
Choosing an image of her proved difficult (for so many obvious reasons). However, I fell in love with this one because it shows her inner strength, her experimentation with identity & beauty norms, and overall, found it to have interesting face lighting and shadows.
See below for the recreation inspired by this early 20th century portrait of painter, Frida Kahlo.
Momentos
We hold onto sooo many things. Ever stop to think why?
Recognizing the things we hold onto is an acknowledgment of our life's accomplishments and/or rites of passage as we grow. These things serve as place holders to our very own timelines. Rites of passage are universal and as people, we want to hold onto those memories. Clothing can be at the forefront of these memories and one of the major things we attribute to these rituals.
