Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up V&A Museum

I knew a bit about Frida before I went to the exhibition and was looking forward to seeing all her beautiful clothes and looking more closely art her artwork.  

The exhibition:  

It all felt very squashed!  I think it would have been much better in a bigger space.  While the low lighting and music help to set the scene in the first section about her life, I felt I was being shuffled down a corridor full of people with blocks of text and black and white photos on either side.  Not very engaging for children.  The next room - was full of her personal belongings.  They were displayed in large perspex boxes which I think were meant to represent the beds she spent much of her life in.   One display had her artificial leg with her bright red boot; another showed her corsets and body braces and others her medicines, nail varnish and her jewellery.  It all felt very sterile and I felt really sorry for Frida.  

They could have made this so much better by recreating her bedroom, so her things would be displayed as they would have been in her house. (I recently visited Avebury Manor where they did this brilliantly and this is now my favourite National Trust place - check out  https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/avebury/features/transforming-avebury-manor for more details.)  

Finally the best bit - her dresses and her artwork.  It was great to be able to get up close to her paintings but her amazing skirts and blouses - oh no - they were all squashed inside another giant perspex box!   My challenge for the exhibition was to try and take away the colour from Frida's clothes and study the detail, but this was very hard to do as you couldn't see the other side of the clothes.  Very frustrating.  

Timeline:

1907:  Frida is born on 6 July in Coyoacan, Mexico City.  The 3rd of 4 sisters.  Her mother was Mexican and her father German.  Born Wilhelm when he moved to Mexico he changed his name to Guillermo and was a professional photographer.  Maybe this is why there are so many photos of Frida.

1913:  Age 6 diagnosed with polio

1922:  Starts school at National Preparatory school

1925:  Miraculously survives tram crash but breaks her spine and is bedriden for months.

1926:  Frida learns to paint in bed with a mirror and special easel.  Does the first of 55 self-portraits, which become a type of autobiography of her life.

1929:  Marries mural painter Diego Rivera and divorces him 10 years later.

1939: Frida goes to New York for her first solo exhibition.

1940: Remarries Diego and moves into La Casa Azul.

1954:  Dies in her bed 13 July at La Casa Azul.

Favourite quote:

"I am not sick.  I am broken.  But I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint." 

Reflection:

I came away feeling really sorry for Frida and the pain she suffered throughout her life.  It was interesting to see all her possession but I wish it had been more of a celebration of her as an artist and her bold sense of colour, fashion and love of animals.   This is what I would do if I was organising the an exhibition.

If you want to find out more:

https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/frida-kahlo-making-her-self-up