"Self Portait on the Border Between Mexico and the United States"

Frida Kahlo's Self-Representations and Questions of Identity employees.oneonta.edu/.../women/kahlo.html>



The main focal point of "Self Portait on the border between mexico and the United States", is Frida herself. She is holding a mexican flag, standing on the border of Mexico and the United States. The left side of the painting is the side of Mexico. From the roots in the groud are various types of flowers. There are three different statues lying on the ground, one of which resembles a skeleton commonly used to represent "Dia de los muertos". There are a pile of stones, leading up to a building with multiple stairs. In the sky the image of a sun and a moon is displayed. On the right side of the painting, the United States is portrayed. From the ground, instead of roots, it looks like plugs leading to different machinery, rather than flowers. The Ford Hospital is shown, along with many industrialized buildings. The American flag is shown in a cloud of pollution.

The painting obviously portrays her to views and experiences in her life in Mexico, as well as in the United States. Her view of Mexico can be taken as traditional, this can be seen from the roots in the ground leading to the flowers. Also, the statues and buildings give off a traditional side of her Mexican heritage. She seems to view America as very industrialized and caught up in materialized items. The fact that she showed the Ford hospital was symbolizing the time she spent there while being in the United States. Frida used her self image in the middle of the two sides to portray the time she spent in both. The fact that she is holding a Mexican flag shows that she favors her home country.

I chose this painting because after reading the article about Frida Kahlo's life, when I saw this painting I immediatly thought back of the story of how she pleaded Rivera to return to her home country. With the love she had for Rivera and how much she enjoyed her paintings being praised by him and those in the United States, she favored her hometown more. This painting portrayed perfectly her view on Mexico and her views and experiences in the United States. Putting her self image in the middle of the two was a perfect way to show how she was being torn, and by places the Mexican flag clearly showed which of the two she favored.