Frida Kahlo: Sus Fotos

by Pablo Ortiz Monasterio

Cuando Frida Kahlo muere Diego Rivera, marido, ex marido y viudo de Frida, le pide al poeta Carlos Pellicer que convierta la casa azul en un museo para que el pueblo de México pueda visitarla y admirar la obra de la artista. Pellicer seleccionó los cuadros de Frida que estaban en la casa, así como algunos dibujos, fotos, libros y cerámicas conservando los espacios tal cual los había adaptado el matrimonio para vivir y trabajar. El resto de los objetos, ropa, documentos, dibujos, cartas y más de seis mil fotografías que Frida reunió a lo largo de su vida, se guardaron en los baños convertidos en bodegas. Este formidable acervo estuvo oculto por más de medio siglo. Hace pocos años decidieron abrir las bodegas, armarios y baúles que lo resguardaban. El conjunto de imágenes fotográficas es un tesoro que desvela los gustos e intereses de la famosa pareja, no sólo en lo que cuentan las imágenes sino también en las anotaciones al margen, y permite especular en torno a sus fobias y atracciones, incluso es posible documentar sus orígenes familiares. La fotografía para Frida siempre estuvo presente, su padre Guillermo Kahlo fue uno de los grandes fotógrafos de principios del siglo XX Mexicano, De él conservó algunas imágenes de arquitectura colonial y un buen número de autorretratos. En la colección de Frida hay una lista de grandes fotógrafos: Man Ray, Brassaï, Martin Munkacsi, Pierre Verger, George Hurrel, Tina Modotti, Edward Weston, Manuel y Lola Álvarez Bravo, Gisèle Freund y muchos otros, entre ellos la propia Frida Kahlo. Es probable que ella hiciera varias de las fotos de la colección, aunque estamos seguros de su autoría sólo en unas cuantas que decidió firmar en 1929.

Genres: Art, Photography, Nonfiction, Coffee Table Books

496 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2010

Reviews

[Arghavan-紫荆]

حس خیلی خوبی داشت نگاه کردن به این عکس‌ها، بنظرم بعد از خوندن زندگی‌نامه‌ و جورنال های شخصی فریدا، دیدن کلکسیون شخصی عکس‌هایی که خودش یا پدرش گرفته بودن یا از طرف دوستها براش ارسال شده بود خیلی به‌جا بود و چسبید.
حس می‌کردم کنار یه دوست نشستم و داریم آلبومش رو با هم ورق می‌زنیم.

[Michael Perkins]

Along with these wonderful photographs, more of what has been revealed in recent years....

https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/unlock...

[Maria Almaguer]

For the Kahlo enthusiast, here are many never before seen photographs from the artist's personal collections.

[Sandee]

Some essays in this book refer to the term "voyeuristic." As a fan of Frida, I felt that this photo collection is extremely intimate. It is like sitting down with an old friend and going through their photo album with them. You get a chance to see the moments and the people that are significant to them. Perhaps get a chance to see an emotion expressed in a moment. Frida's painting are already intimate and a window in to her soul. These pictures are an added layer and any fan of Frida would love this beautiful book. You also get a chance to see not only her personal collection, but there are quite a few that reveal "Frida the photographer" which is just as extraordinary.

[reading is my hustle]

LOVED this- the text was as informative as the photos. I want to own it.

[Debra]

Very scholarly essays to describe Kahlo's life as related to photography preface each section. The book contains both her photos and her father's (of course) as well as others found in her collection. Although some of the photos show Kahlo's real-life struggles, many more show a happier side with friends and family. Others document her travels. It was intriguing to see the photos she altered with lipstick kisses, notes, or by tearing or cutting away portions.

This book is a great addition to my Frida collection.

[Tibor Jánosi-Mózes]

Susan Sontag wrote in one of her essays that "all photographs are made precious by time"*. The value of a photograph can also be enhanced by the photographer and when these two factors combine, the magic is born.
Frida is "almost tactile" memory in my life, like a memory of a childhood sweetheart. I am mesmerised by her and her art.
I would give half my arm for a kiss from her (even if it is in a picture).
This book glued me to my chair. It was a joy in every letter, despite all the sadness in every detail.

*My quote is not accurate.

[Miguel Ángel]

Un libro con una perspectiva diferente sobre la vida de Frida, donde no te afirman los sucesos que acontecieron para formar a dicha personalidad, sino que muestra evidencia para sacar conclusiones que de igual forma puede ser rechazada. Quien es amante de esta mujer puede estar seguro que este libro no es otro intento de biografía.

[Lucy]

The narrative that preceeded many of the photos (which belonged to Frida's and Diego's estate) was information & I enjoyed this perspective of her life. This book may compliment her overall biography, but the photos included were not that notable (in my opinion). This is a good read for the hardcore Frida fan but for the casually curious? Reach for something else.

[Erik]

Very interesting and gorgeous photos. To look thru several decades of intimate photos in or around her life felt heavy and I had to stop in the middle to resume it the next day.
Im glad that I finished it and I am richer for it.

[Maria Rosa]

Acervo oculto por más de 50 años. El autor hace un análisis interesante, diferente y ameno.
Habiendo visitado La Casa Azul y el Anahuacalli, en varias ocasiones, el tener un atisbo a ese tesoro, me ha gustado mucho.

[Meghann Oliver]

A MUST read for Frida fans.

[Victor Amaya]

Muy buen libro, hay datos de ella que desconocía totalmente y hasta ahora con este libro los supe

[Paulien]

4,5/5

[Alicia Esparza]

La principal atracción fueron las fotografías ineditas con la historia de vida y sufrimiento de esta mujer.

[Gema]

Beautiful, powerful, and unexpected. Las imágenes de Frida han dejado en mí una comprensión más profunda de su resiliencia. Ella siempre va ser una crack.

[Fer]

dicen que no hay que confiar mucho en los intérpretes pero creo q el trabajo de todas esas personas me ha hecho sentirme cerca de frida

mis fotos favoritas son las de la página 57, 164, 170 y 175

[Dylan Bason]

Many beautiful photos and some interesting essays.

[Ylenia]

This is an incredibly intimate collection of photos from Frida and Diego's archive. Some of them were breath taking and I was fascinated throughout the whole experience.

[Ellie]

If perusing someone's personal library is a way to understand their inner world, browsing the photo archive of one of 20th century's most important artistic figures is a bonanza for understanding the visual world from which their art came. And surprisingly enough, we didn't have access privilege to her visual archive until recently. This book shows it for the first time, divided in several sections ("Mother", "Father", "Casa Azul", "The Broken Body", "Political Action", etc), encompassing family pictures, photographs taken of her, by her, given to her. For someone who so carefully crafted her image in so many ways, who made herself into a character of a larger story that is only partially contained in her art, the archive is an indispensable tool for understanding Frida as a work of art herself.

I've always wondered why she wasn't a photographer to the degree she was a painter. Her father and grandfather were, after all, and she had a close relationship with some of the most important photographer artists who put in motion the post-revolutionary Mexican cultural renaissance. And let’s not forget the powerful role photography played in the Mexican social and political upheavals of the early 20th century. However, even though much photographed, even though her large public persona was so much due to the photographs of her, we didn't have any pictures she actually took. This book reveal just a little in this respect. She only signed three of them, in 1929; for others it's safe to attribute to her as they follow themes and visual strategies of her art.

Still, the collection is important not just for any evidence of her own photographic skills, or for the little known family pictures. They were revealing, too, in showing her ability to understand how an image works at a very early age: in her childhood intuitive posing, in the awareness of her gaze, in her father's numerous introspective self-portraits it is easy to spot the artistic style she developed or acquired from her heritage before she even called herself an artist. One group photo of her mother's family shows, for example, the Victorian dress we see in her self-portrait "Las Dos Fridas". In the later photos others took of her or gave to her (by Brassai, Modotti, Weston, Ray) we can find not just motifs we know from her paintings later, but also inspiration and influence. Photography was just inextricably intertwined with her art and her self.

In sum, this book should be the number 1 tool for all Frida Kahlo researchers. However, it is of enormous interest to all her admirers as an artist, woman and intellectual figure. A crucial piece in the puzzle called Frida.

[l]

Vaguely interesting. The essays are garbage though.

[Uriel Soto]

"México está como siempre, desorganizado y dado al diablo, sólo le queda la inmensa belleza de la tierra y de los indios"

Puede que las fotografías que se encuentran aquí sean bastante corrientes pero, al menos a mí, la mayoría me parecieron maravillosas.

[sarah]

Much better, mostly photos with minimal analysis in each section.

[Prachi Khetan]

She was an icon and this book conveys beautifully.