Compare and contrast two pictures. The artists Frida Kahlo and Leonora Carrington that will be available in the files. Within each image, what do you think the importance is exactly of the animal and how the women relate to it? Are these animals symbols,
The artists Frida Kahlo and Leonora Carrington were both Mexican born Surrealist painters. They moved in the same circles and both utilized imagery based on their dreams, nightmares and unconscious thoughts. Frida Kahlo’s work dealt specifically with illness and the fragility of the human body as she had been in a serious accident when she was young that left her in crippling pain for most of her life. Both women were supporters of women’s rights and Leonora Carrington was a founding member of the Women’s Liberation Movement in Mexico in the 1970s. How they represent women in their paintings is very different from other artists of the time. They sought to empower the image of women FOR women and By women, and their work reflects these passions. Below are two images, Kahlo’s famous painting entitled Self Portrait with Monkey, 1938 and Carrington’s Self Portrait (Inn of the Dawn Horse), 1937. In both images the women are seen interacting with an animal. Within each image, what do you think the importance is exactly of the animal and how the women relate to it? Are these animals symbols, and if so what of? Also, consider the environment into which the women are placed, interior verses exterior and is this significant in terms of understanding the deeper meaning of the works as a whole? Also, consider any symbols within the works, i.e. the necklace around Kahlo’s neck, the rocking horse behind Carrington’s head and the chair she sits on. Are these elements important? I enourage you all to do some research on these images and discuss in your own words. Must be 1000 words.
