Who was Frida Kahlo?

Frida Kahlo, born on July 6th, 1907, is a renowned painter who was best known for her vibrant, resolute, and authentically painful self portraits. Her work is celebrated worldwide, however, more so in México as she was born there. Her work depicted Mexican and indigenous culture, but also pushed boundaries to illustrate the female experience and form.

What is this exhibit?

The "Frida Kahlo: Timeless Exhibition" was housed at the College of DuPage from June 5 to Sept. 12, 2021. This exhibit presented viewers with Kahlo's work and facts about her life, as well as other small showings of related topics within the exhibit. Scroll to the bottom to read about our individual perspectives.

Perspectives

Janessa: When I was younger, my dad would always tell me about someone named Frida Kahlo. I understood that she had been an artist, but I really didn’t understand the impact she had on the art world and people in general. I knew she was the person with a unibrow who was on many people’s shirts, but I could not wrap my head around the importance of Kahlo’s impact. As I grew a little older, I became more aware of Kahlo’s accomplishments, grew very fond of her artwork, and recognized what she was able to do for the Latino community. Kahlo broke barriers and proved herself to the world on her own terms. She became someone that I revered and even inspired me to start painting; a couple years ago I made a Kahlo portrait, so it was definitely amazing to see the work of someone who had inspired me years prior.

The exhibit was definitely not what I expected it to be. I had initially thought that there were only going to be paintings by Kahlo, but I was pleasantly surprised when there were other pieces of information within the exhibit. I was able to learn more about Kahlo while enjoying the artwork. In the Kahlo-inspired garden, there was food and beverages being sold to visitors. To my surprise, I really enjoyed the children’s area and I’m sure that Abe can say the same. There were various elements of color and multiple forms of art, such as dolls and books, that were appealing to the eye. The area was very vibrant and provided us with an educational experience as well. Overall, the exhibit was a great experience and I enjoyed myself tremendously.

Abe: Growing up, I always heard so many stories about Frida Khalo from my family. She is revered as a pioneer for women's rights and queer rights. Seeing her artwork in-person really put all those stories into perspective. Initially, I thought the museum would be pretty small and only feature a few of Kahlo's paintings. However, to my surprise, the museum was quite large and had so much more to offer than just paintings. I think my favorite part was the layout of all the art work and the history component that accompanied each piece. As someone who has some general knowledge on Frida Kahlo, having those sidebars along with her artwork, was very convenient. I was able to learn so much more about Kahlo and her artwork than ever before. The display of everything was very vibrant and beautiful.

The only thing I thought was lacking was an acknowledgement of Kahlo's queerness. Khalo was always very authentically herself, and was not afraid to speak out on the issues she cared about. She embraced her queerness and culture. As someone who is also queer, I admire her for that and try to embrace those same principles. I would’ve loved to see an exhibit honoring her queer identity and bringing more light to it. Other than that, I thought the exhibit was truly spectacular.