Frida, through my eyes

When talking about great women, I can certainly name a few that inspire me; Amelia Earhart comes to mind, Georgia O’Keeffe, Princess Diana, another favorite of mine is Joan of Arc and then there is Mother Teresa.

However I would seek out a person I could relate to, identify with, and understand at least on some level. I absolutely feel a kind of kinship toward Frida Kahlo as an artist, activist and a woman who has endured great physical and emotional pain in life, after an accident.

Frida Kahlo was a painter that was born in Mexico on July 6, 1907. She was best known for her many paintings of portraits, and self-portraits as well as paintings inspired by nature. She also famously depicted herself with her uni-brow. Frida died on July 13, 1954.

Kahlo once said: “I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality.”

In her life Frida Kahlo raised questions on gender, race and class. She was forward-thinking on these issues. Frida was married to a muralist named Diego Rivera. If you are interested, you can see a Hollywood depiction of her life called “Frida” made in 2002 by Julie Taymor. I liked the film, but I’m here to discuss why I’m drawn to Frida Kahlo.

Young Frida was born to a German father and a mother who was “mestiza.” Kahlo grew up in her family home in Coyoacan/”place of coyotes”, now the Frida Kahlo Museum. As a child, Frida was disabled by Polio, but that didn’t stop her from being a promising medical student. Sadly, a traffic accident at age eighteen caused her never-ending pain and medical issues.

Kahlo was a passenger on a Bus that crashed, sending a handrail through Frida’s back and out her pelvis. The accident also dislocated Frida’s shoulder and crushed her foot. Many surgeries were to come for Frida. Are you interested in that movie yet?

Here is where our stories become similar. When I was still young, I was hit by a car while crossing the street on foot. It was a hit and run, and I was left in the street with a skull fracture and many other injuries. To this day I have cervical spine issues and chronic Migraine disease. Sometimes the pain can only be managed in the ER. Art is my distraction and savior.

I look at Kahlo and say: “If Frida could endure all the pain she lived through, so can I!” This mantra helps me through many agonizing days.

When I was hit by that car, I didn’t just end up with a skull fracture, I had a concussion, several broken bones, a great deal of glass in the back of my head and the side of my face and some nasty road rash from when I basically bounced off of the car and was thrown back onto the road.

When I woke up in the hospital, my mother was by my side reassuring me that everything would be okay. I had a night nurse whose function it was to wake me every so often, apparently to keep me from slipping into a coma.

After my long stay at the hospital, I had to learn many things all over again, this would include walking. As I’ve said, to this day I suffer from Migraines, nerve pain from the fractures, PTSD and many other issues. This is why Frida inspires me. She too had to learn to walk again; she’s been through similar struggles and perhaps may have even felt the emotional ups and downs that I feel from time to time.

Thus far I’ve had 5 left forearm surgeries, there were three plates and five screws in my arm, then removed and then placed back again. I’ve also had five surgeries on my left knee. Like Frida, I didn’t know it at first, but after my accident, there were many surgeries ahead for me.

Frida was exposed to death as well, and she often painted morbid images, like “The Bed”1940, it’s an image of Kahlo in bed with a skeleton on a board above her. The skeleton isn’t sad; it’s on its side and covered in fireworks. It’s not dark and depressing, rather like Frida, it wants “…the exit to be joyful and I hope never to return”.

There is an excellent article that’s been written by Wes Kelly, titled The Painful Life of Frida Kahlo: How Injury Led to Inspiration. It did lead to inspiration in me as well. I’ve used my collage work, photography and writing to help me focus on something other than pain, and it works.

I thank Frida for her forward thinking and her courage. I thank her for teaching me how not to give up. I thank Kahlo for showing me that we can endure! Viva La Frida!