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Tae Art Man: The Series
The artwork by LGBT+ artists often express the deep exploration of their true selves amidst confusion, pressure, and the problems faced as marginalized individual in society. It also includes challenging conventional norms that limit relationships based solely on physically gender identity.
Throughout this month, Tae Art Man: The Series presents five world-renowned artists in the art world who draw inspiration from the LGBT+ lifestyle to create globally recognized artworks that raise awareness and reflect the diversity of gender in society. Today, let’s start with an artist who communicates the LGBT+ experience through numerous heartfelt and impactful self-portrait and considered the Queen icon- “Frida Kahlo.”
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) was a renowned Mexican artist known for her self-portraits that often depicted the cultural heritage of her birthplace. Despite being married to and sharing the same household with the famous artist Diego Rivera, who was 20 years her senior, Frida identified herself as bisexual and had relationships with both male and female artists and celebrities.
It’s no wonder that her self-portraits are filled with self-discovery and representations of her sexual identity. One notable work is “Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair, 1940,” where she painted herself with short cropped hair, with loose strands scattered across the floor, wearing a masculine suit. The top of the painting features lyrics in the Mexican language that roughly translate to, “If I loved you because of your hair, now that you don’t have any, I don’t love you anymore.”
Two Frida – The Two Sides of Frida’s Identity
In the artwork “Two Frida, 1939,” Frida painted herself as two individuals sitting together and holding hands. On the left is Frida dressed in Western attire, while on the right is her in traditional Mexican attire. She created this painting shortly after her divorce from Diego, which reflects the pain and the dual aspects of her identity.
The attire she wears reflects the mixed heritage between her German father and Mexican mother, as well as the lifestyle before she met Diego, whom she admired for his Western-style clothing. After their relationship, Diego often encouraged her to wear traditional Mexican attire.
Although this painting represents the complexity of her identity, the intertwined blood vessels connecting their hearts suggest a sense of unity as if they were the same person. In Frida’s right hand, she holds a pair of forceps clamping the vein that drops blood onto a palette. In her left hand, she holds a locket with a childhood picture of Diego, possibly the inspiration behind this artwork.
Frida described her preference for self-portraits, saying, “I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone and because I am the person I know best.”
Frida has used her dark and introspective art to delve deep into her own psyche, earning high acclaim for her work. She has become the first Latin American artist to have her artwork displayed in the Louvre Museum. Furthermore, her artwork has been widely used as symbols of the LGBTQ+ movement.
In the next episode of Art Man, we will meet a photographer who showcases the vibrant subculture of gay individuals, whose artwork faced outright bans and societal backlash, yet was auctioned for nearly 3 million baht a year ago. Stay tuned!
You might interest in Andy Warhol’s copyright case
Portrait for Illustration: Portrait of Frida Kahlo by Guillermo Kahlo, 1932
