Frida : A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Frida : A Biography of Frida Kahlo
Book Review: The One and Only
Summary: 5 Stars
This is probably the definitive biography of one of Mexico's greatest gifts to the art world, Frida Kahlo. If you want to know more about this Mexican icon, please read this book. The photographs are abundant and the color reproductions of her works are numerous and spread throughout the book. Full of little known tid bits of information, it is a fascinating read. For example, her name was Frieda, but changes it to Frida as a political protest. The insights into the lives of her, hubby, Diego Rivera, and all their circle of friends is enthralling. The allure of Frida is a now 21st century phenomena that does not seem to be losing steam. I recently went to the Museum of Contemporay Art in La Jolla, Ca. to see an exhibit that featured some of her most famous paintings. It was unbelieveable the amount of goods generated to sell that are Frida related. Her picture was everywhere in the gift shop, always for sale. I only wonder what this wonderful spirit would have thought about how she is venerated and idolized by so many. Back to the book, the writing style is one that flows and allows the reader to follow without much trouble. The reference material is abundant including many interviews, letters and quotes from other books. Scholarly enough for academics but entertaining enough for the casual reader. It will hold your interest and leave you knowing Frida and the pain and joy that was her life. The book is thick, but because of the intriguing nature of her life you will probably finish it quickly. When you approach the the last chapters of this book, you will not want it to end. The inevitable end will come and a temporary void will have been created as her death will leave you saddened. Her ghastly cremation will bring a tear to your eye; it did mine and I'm a guy! As you get over it, you will rejoice in the consolation of knowing that her art lives on. You may even go out and buy a piece of Frida to adorn your home with, like me and so many other fans of Frida have done. Frida has not died, her spirit lives on for eternity. She is always looking at me, with her joined eyebrows and three monkeys. The look of a revolutionary spirit who has left her art and a wonderful biography by Hayden Herrera for all to enjoy.Book Review: Thank you Ms. Herrera!
Summary: 5 Stars
Thank you Ms. Herrera for writing an art history book that is not only informative and well researched, but also interesting and a pleasure to read.Book Review: Stranger than fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
I once shared a house with many framed posters of paintings of the same woman. She had dark hair, her eyebrows met in the middle, and she was frequently surrounded by monkeys, strange plants, bones and blood. I thought she must be a Mexican actress, and that these were movie posters. But my Latina housemate explained that these fascinating prints were actually paintings -- self-portraits, in fact -- of a Mexicana artist named Frida Kahlo. She loaned me this book to read, and I stayed up all night, and all the next night, hanging with Frida and her horny husband Diego Rivera. When the book ended, I not only cried for her death, but I missed her like a friend. Kahlo, whose degenerative back problems placed her in constant pain, painted herself because, as she said, "I am all alone most of the time." Her style was at once realistic and symbolic; and sometimes she let loose on subjects other then herself, painting a friend's suicide, for instance, or a portrait of a dead neighbor child. She lived in in Mexico during the first half of this century, and, along with her famous husband, rubbed shoulders with movie stars, Communists, art dealers and Leon Trotsky. She was known as a long-suffering wife of a man who had trouble keeping his pants on (but was the most revolutionary artist of his time); a painter; an entertainer; a hostess; bi-sexual; severely physically challenged; a Mexican patriot; she painted (many paintings are reproduced in this book); wrote letters; gave speeches; traveled; and, always, suffered. While this may sound grim, she was dearly beloved and respected in her time, and even moreso now, as much for her colorful lifestyle and outrageous sense of humor as for the truth and drama of her art. This biography is academic enough for the serious historian, and entertaining enough for most adults, particularly those with an interest in art and Mexican culture. Once you "know" Frida, you will never forget her, and here is an excellent introduction to a truly si! ngular artist and woman.